13 Months Old!

I feel like I just wrote the post about Delia turning 1, yet another month has passed. Delia becomes funnier by the day and her personality is beginning to show more and more. She knows when she's being funny and laughs at herself. She's very silly and incredibly sweet. She loves to give kisses (to Mommy and her baby dolls), and she takes her books very seriously.

At 13 months, Delia:
* Has mastered walking and has moved on to running and walking with attitude. I kid you not, the girl is learning to shake her hips and strut when she's walking. She likes to make noises when she runs because she likes to hear how her voice sounds different. And she thinks it's really funny to try to chase after her big brother. Dancing remains one of her favorite things to do. She has become a key participant in the Schmitt Family dance parties.
* Has a sweet relationship with the dog. Most of you know that Dusty, our wonderfully sweet old boy, wants nothing to do with John Grayson. They've never had a good relationship, and Dusty is totally justified in staying away from the boy. He was mean to Dusty when he was little---grabbing fur/ears/tail, locking him in his crate. Delia, on the other hand, is incredibly gentle and loves to throw the ball to him. Dusty seems to appreciate her calm demeanor and will stand there patiently while she pats him on the head or back. John and I have decided that Dusty is probably going to become a fixture in Delia's bedtime as she grows up.
* Loves to hide in the corner (and not because we put her there). We keep a booster seat in the dining room next to the china cabinet. Delia loves to crawl into it and sit there. Recently, she's started moving the seat and sitting in the corner herself. She usually brings a book or toy and will sit there until we come to find her. I think she may be a lover of hide and seek. Earlier today, she took a book into the upstairs bathroom and sat between the toilet and tub. Not sure if it's because she wanted privacy or she's seen her Daddy take reading material in there before.
* Has finally started to enjoy her time at the YMCA. Up until now, Delia has been my "problem child" at the gym. She's never really enjoyed being separated from me and I rarely hear that she made it the entire time without crying. Well last week, I think we turned the corner. I said good-bye and she looked at me, smiled and waved bye bye. Then she turned around and walked toward the toys. No tears. No screaming. Maybe her transition to preschool in a few years won't be so bad after all.
* Loves to sing "If You're Happy and You Know It". We have it as a book, and it's always her first choice. She does "clap your hands" and "stomp your feet" pretty well, and we're still working on "tickle your tummy". She asks for it over and over again too, which is hard to say no to because she gets so excited.
* Has started transitioning to 1 nap in the afternoon. This is not by my choice. I enjoy my mostly-quiet shower time in the morning, and I'm not looking forward to figuring out a way to keep the two children safe for 15 minutes. We put her in the crib each morning, but 3 days this week, she didn't nap. Sat in her crib and played for an hour. Luckily this lack of morning nap translated into awesome afternoon naps of 3.5 hours! Part of me is actually looking forward to moving to a one-nap routine because we'll be able to get to more morning activities. Plus, I won't mind an entire afternoon of quiet (until JGray finally drops his nap).

We're very excited about the weather becoming warmer so we can take Delia outside to play more. I can already tell that she's going to love the park and the backyard as much as her brother, although I'm not sure if she'll dig for dinosaur bones with him. Maybe if he agrees to play tea party or house.

Here are a few pictures of Delia at 13 months: