Look at me!

I learned to crawl at the La Leche League of Georgia conference this past weekend!

I love Athens!!! (shh, don't tell my Grampa; he's a Gator)

Now I can crawl to my toys... and past my toys to get what I really want, which is my big sisters' toys and anything made of paper.

Sometimes I use my back right foot to push myself along, and I always have it at the ready to pivot myself backward into sitting position (so I can eat the paper that I find).

No more pushing myself backward across the floor on my belly...

Now I can get stuff that doesn't belong to me!

Mommy's purse is particularly interesting...

Oh, and guess what else I can do now?

I pull up into standing position!  Only on the bathtub, though.  My sister Cecilia told me it's the easiest place to pull up on for the average-height baby, and she was right!  The fireplace might work too, if those padded things didn't fall off when I pulled on them!

Look who's talking too

I posted before on all the cute ways Caroline used to say certain words and have been meaning to write down some of Cecilia's pronunciations as well, before I forget them all. I didn't write down Caroline's while she was saying them and had to try to remember what she said (and when). Cecilia, so far, has clearer pronunciations, so not quite as funny... she is also talking *more* than Caroline was at this age (and those of you who knew Caroline around 18 months of age may think that's impossible as she was quite the chatterbox from early on!). Cecilia didn't say anything until she was over 13 months old, though, oddly enough... not even "Mama." So I never would have guessed what a vocabulary she'd develop over the next four to five months. It's mind-blowing how they learn things so quickly when they are little!

So, this post is for archival purposes for me... it really may be very boring for other people, so feel free to skip it, ha ha!

Words Cecilia says (these are words she actually knows and will say unpromted while pointing to things, not words she can repeat when asked... she tries to repeat almost any word we say, when she is in the mood... she is a little spitfire and if she is not in the mood to do something - she won't!):
eye: "eye"
poke: "boke" (these two follow each other frequently as she pokes her own eye!)
eat: "eat"
lunch: "utch"
cat: "dat"
dog: "gog"
Gabby (my parents' cat): "Dabby"
Mason or Macy (other cat): "Mehsee"
Gramma: "muhmuh"
Grampa: "Bahbuh" (stress put quite emphatically on the first syllable)
Caroline: "Buhluhluhluhluhluh" (she's basically rolling her Ls repeatedly - not sure how to really spell it!)
Gran: "Dah"
Grandad: "Dadad"
Mommy's: "Mommy's"
Daddy's: "Daddy's" (she also just says Mommy or Daddy if she is greeting us, but she will point to things that belong to us and use the possessive form... how weird is that?!?)
Tim (my brother): "Dim" (used to be "Tttt" - the "d" sound is almost a "t" sound but not quite when she puts it at the front of a word)
Mike (my brother): "Mahk" (used to be "guck")
Mike Revak (our seminarian): "Guck Guck" (that one cracks me up!)
Father Jim (our preist who just retired): "Dim"
Father Paul: "Bahw"
Father Ketter: "Gehguh" (which she says when she points to the dowel rod priest)
Pope (her first real word along with Daddy and a few animal sounds): "Bope" or "Pope" - it is interesting how similar P and B sound t the beginning of the words she says
Nuht-nuh: "Night-night"
Sleep/sheep: "eep"
Ruff (what a dog says): "uff" or "ahff"
Meow: "mow" (rhyming with "wow")
Mouth: "mouf"
Button: muh-muh
Horsie: "ohsee"
Rocking: "ockee"
No: "Nooo!"
Mine: "mines!" (yes, she speaks ebonics)
Naked: "nooney" (because I say it this way - one of us Nadolski children said this as a toddler)
Bottom: "bobbum" (same as above!)
Poop: "boop"
Gas: "gas" (which she insists urgently if I say I am going to change her poopy diaper!)
Peepee: "beebee"(got the important things covered there, huh?)
Baby: "beebee" - but it sounds differently than the previous word. In peepee, it almost sounds like a P sound
Water: ahhdah"
Blueberry: "bwoo"
Strawberry: "behwee"
Popcicle (frozen yogurt pps): "guckle"
Motorcycle : also "guckle"
Egg: "egg"
Cheese: "deese"
Noodle: "noonuh"
Cup: "bup"
Car: "dah"
Truck: "guck"
Scooter: "goot-goot" (scoot-scoot)
Come: "come" (which she shouts at the open door as she waits for Daddy to go by in his car or on his scooter... Caroline taught her this by calling, "Come on, Daddy! Daddy is coming!")
Pants: "bants"
Computer: "booduh"
Priest: "beest"
Mary: "mahwee"
Bow/hair band/hair clip: "bow"
Lawnmower: "moe-moe" (golf carts are also moe-moes)
Pool: "buhw" (almost a P sound again)
Splash: "bass" (almost a P sound again)
Bee: "Beeeee! Beeeeee!" (all bugs are "beeee!" until I tell her "it's just a bug," and then she says, "buh")
Swing: "ing"
Candle: "dahdoo"
Draw: "daw!" (all crayons,pens, markers, etc. are "daws" as well)
Chalk: "awk"
Toes: "does" or "peegees" (piggies)
Thank you: "neh-nuh"
Please: "beese" (almost that P sound again)
Fishies: "eeshies" (Goldfish crackers)
Snack: "nack"
Fork: "gock"
Ice: "ahhs" (better than what it used to be, which was a cuss word!)
Jesus: "Deezis"
Playground: "bwahbwuh"
Bird: "boohd"
Bouncy: "bousee"
Mouse: "mouse"
Duck: "guck"
Quack: "cack"
Ding-dong: "dah-nah" (another baby Nadolski-ism)
Pray: "pway"
Church: "dootse"
Read: "eeed"
Potty: "pot-pot" - that B/P sound again! (a Daddyism)
Down: "dow"
Bugbite: "buhbite"
Dot: "dot"
Pizza: "patsa"
Cecilia: "Cici," of course! (she can be really particular about not wanting to say this one!)

Whew, I think I am going to stop there!

First phrase:
Change diaper: "dandge dieboo"
She also said "Beeguh!" (big girl) the other day when she was sitting in a big chair.

Little Daredevil

This face says it all... "I can take on anything - I can climb any mountain. Just watch me!" Oh, don't let that melted yogurt popsicle on her chin fool you for a minute - she means serious business!

Cecilia is climbing on everything... and has been for a few months now. This is the other day, when she climbed onto the package of toilet paper to see what she could find on the counter (no knives, thank goodness!). She also bent her knees and bobbed up and down, saying, "Boucy, boucy, boucy!" She thinks it is as fun as an inflatable, ha ha.

She also climbed onto this overturned laundry basket the other day and just sat there, feeling quite pleased with herself. She has also been known to climb onto Caroline's little table and to climb onto the hearth and pull the pebbles out from around the gas logs.

Today, she set a new record in her level of braveness. She climbed up to the top of the McDonald's play area. She did this for the first time about three weeks ago (we go there to play sometimes when it is raining or just miserably HOT), but today... she climbed about 15 feet up the tunnel slide. I had to crawl in to fish her out! Then she climbed up the stairs - three times - and came down the slide! That slide has got to be at least 15 feet high. I'd be completely terrified if it weren't an enclosed tunnel slide. I did make sure to send Caroline up with her to make sure she went down the slide carefully, and I didn't let her climb up until there were no other kids up there. At one point, I did hear her fussing in the slide and had to climb up it quickly to make sure she wasn't stuck somehow.

It is so funny how daring she is... Caroline wouldn't go on playground equipment alone until she was over two, and wouldn't go in a tall play area until she was over three (and still won't go in if there are "big kids" inside it). She is cautious. Cecilia is the opposite, apparently, although I wouldn't say she is careless or fearless... she seems to be able to handle most of what she gets herself into!

The little monkey ;)

Cecilia's Buddy

One of Cecilia's first clear words: "Pope." There is a photo of him in the vestibule at our church, and I pointed it out to Cecilia during one of the various times I ended up out there with her and told her it was the Pope. She began saying,"Pope!" enthusiastically. Now she recognizes him on this pamphlet we have, too.

She finally started saying "mama" now - after she was saying "Pope." Suddenly, she is realizing she can communicate - she says, "Dup" for cup and up (she points at the cup or clings to my legs at the same time she is speaking, so I know which one she means!). She is trying to say "Caroline" - she starts out with a hard C sound and gets out two garbled syllables. She tries to say "clothes" and "blueberry;" last night she was saying "plat" for plate. It is funny how she is saying words with the L sound - and almost making the L sound clearly! She suddenly is able to make the m, n, and g sounds. She now says "nah nah" when she wants to nurse while doing the sign for "milk" - doing this multiple times a day! And she does the "please" sign but does not say anything for "please" yet. The other day, she actually did the sign for "more" while saying"mo," and then said "dup!" while reaching up at me... "more up." Pretty clever, huh? Although she seems to think "more" can be used to express any thought that is otherwise not easy for her to express...

Oh, and I guess I should mention...

Cecilia is walking! She took her first steps about two weeks ago, and now she's pretty confident with walking - although she still prefers to crawl most of the time since it is quite a bit faster! But in the last few days, she has acted like she really enjoys practicing her new skill (as opposed to collapsing every time I stood her up like she was doing at first!), and so I guess it will only be a matter of time before she prefers walking over crawling...

I will post a picture sometime. I don't think I have even taken one... bad mommy. Don't worry though, I got her first steps on video! If I could figure out how to post a clip here that would be ideal.

She Stands!!!

We're oh-so-impressed, and yet her expression remains the same serious one as usual: "Uh, okay... why are you guys staring and clapping at me?"

This was taken on the 7th... I just hadn't offloaded pictures for several days. She's been standing unsupported for a second or two for awhile now, here and there... but she is now doing it for longer stretches and more frequently. No real interest in trying to walk, but this is a step closer (no pun intended).

Pulling Up

So apparently, interesting things like cats and running water motivate this baby (tonight she heard Chris using the electric mixer in the kitchen and crawled right in to investigate!). This is her first time pulling up to a stand. She can also do it on the edge of the fireplace. Not yet on the couch... it's a bit too high. And judging by the look on her face, she can't figure out what the big deal is!