Heidi-isms

As mentioned in the last "Leila-isms" post, my goal is to post cute/new things my girls are doing on the monthly anniversaries of their birth. This one is about Heidi who is already 14 months old!!

"The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days." - Gordon B. Hinckley
how true it is!

 Since I haven't done a Heidi-ism post before, I've got quite a few that have accumulated.

After becoming a mother and finding that the whole world ends up revolving around your little one, I was struck with wide-eyed wonder. . .how could a mother manage TWO children? I was pleasantly surprised to have Heidi be such a sweet baby girl from the beginning, making the transition to two children quite seamless. She was easy-going, sweet, and cuddly. In fact, I actually nicknamed her "cuddles" for about the first 4-6 months of her life. . .then she became a lot more vivacious and would more aptly be nicknamed "wiggles". But even with all her moving and exploring, she is still a sweet girl who hasn't completely grown out of cuddling. 

When she was a newborn, I would just nestle myself in the corner of the couch and fall asleep with my living doll napping peacefully on my chest. We both felt like we were in dream land! Her favorite way to cuddle was to lean any part of her head on the soft part of my cheek--I became a human pillow. . .and loved it! Even now, we have such a strong bond that I have a hard time weaning the sweet little thing! As I nurse her I will often stroke her soft, nearly bald head. When I forget, she reminds me--she'll pick up my hand and rub it back and forth over her head. In those times that I'm distracted, I'm grateful she's on top of things to help bring me back to the moment and remind me of what matters most--being a mommy! 

Soon after her birth, my mom came to visit and mentioned that her temperament was like that of a housecat's. I had that in mind when I answered the oft-asked question: "what's it like being the mother of two children?" My reply became a canned response: "I don't know! I feel like I am the mother of one lively toddler and a housecat--she just stays curled up in the corner of the room, looking all cute and sweet. When I want cuddles, she's happy to oblige me, but I seldom hear a peep from her unless she's hungry!" 

Here is our little kitty cat on the prowl at 11 months old :)  She learned to walk unsupported only days later!

As she's grown, she has been quick to smile. I love her nerdy toothy grin with big gaps in between each tooth. And I love how she wrinkles her nose sometimes when she smiles. Her happy noise comes from her throat and sounds like a pigeon's purr, though I'm sad to say she is starting to grow out of that. 

Probably one of my most favorite things about Heidi is that she has generally allowed me to comfort her. When she cries, I hold her or hug her, or pat her back. . .and she stops crying! It makes me feel . . .the way I've always wanted to feel as a mom--like I am a strength and a support to my child and my help is wanted and needed. I love that feeling!

One time when she was a few months old, I tried to give her a bath in the bathroom sink. I hadn't tried it with her before and realized by trial and error that she was too big for the sink! As her limbs flailed around to demonstrate her discomfort in this tiny excuse for a bathtub, she pushed the handle on the faucet toward HOT. It wasn't  scalding luckily, but it was certainly uncomfortably hot--worth every decibel of noise that escaped from her lips. Of course I immediately yanked her out of the sink and pulled her dripping wet body close to me. She screamed as she clung to me. I spoke softly to reassure her (and to apologize). I stroked her head and patted her back and within about 30 seconds. . . she was calm. I know that might sound like a simple story, but to me it was profound. I am so grateful for this girl and that my presence comforts her. 

Now that I've caught up on some memories and general feelings about my baby, here are some recent Heidi-isms, with some pictures to spice it up:

Heidi has been learning some ASL signs! So far, at 14 months she knows:

• Dog
• Bird
• More
• Hi/bye
• All done
• Milk
• Ouch!
• Help

This past week, I was holding Heidi and she leaned forward to bite my chin--HARD! I said "No Heidi girl! Don't bite Mama!" She looked at me with concern and made the sign for "ouch!" I agreed, saying "that's right Heidi! It hurt! Can you kiss Mama better?" and she did! Although my chin was sore, it was so fun to see her interact with me and show understanding!

This is what she looks like when she reaches for me. It melts me!

Working on those first steps!

This just doesn't happen anymore--Heidi girl is just too busy to fall
asleep on anyone these days. . .but church got in the way of naptime
and Heidi made an exception. I just had to capture this rare sweet moment.

                                          Not only does this video show that she is just SOOO darn
                                          cute, but see those dots? She likes to "pick them up" and
                                          "eat them" ha ha! Funny baby!

This little sweetie has learned this month how
to fold her arms for prayers, and she does so on
command!

Silly girl, she loves to eat everything! And often times she doesn't take the
trouble to pick it up and put it in her mouth. She just laps it up right from the
ground like a little puppy! She wouldn't have made the cut for  Gideon's
army! (Judges 7:4-7)

This little doll-face just LOVES her chicken dinosaurs! In
fact, I would say they are currently her favorite food. The
trouble with them is that they start out frozen. . .and to get
them to the point of being edible, they've got to be microwaved
and possibly even cooled. The wait resulted in her very first
kicking-and-screaming-on-the-floor tantrum. . .like the kind
you see in cartoons :) When I finally handed her the goods,
she was content to just stay where she was and gobble it up!

Heidi is mesmerized by animals so her favorite song right now is "Old McDonald". She likes saying "E-I-E-I" She doesn't have the "O" down yet, but that kinda makes it cuter :)

Heidi likes the book: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?"

. . .and she loves kissing things--like this black sheep in the book. . .

Now I think this one is better blurry because it
shows how excited she was to discover helium balloons--
there was just a constant flurry of cuteness zipping past!

                                 . . .and herself. How can she resist? I know I can't stop kissing her!!

This girl thinks she's "ready to read". Here she is at the library, browsing through
the early chapter books. Doesn't it just look like she's saying "hmmm. . .what should
I read today?"

Heidi has learned to color. . .on the floor. But I showed her the

paper and told her that we only color on paper. Ever since then,

she has pulled out a piece of paper and sat down with a crayon/

marker/ pencil crayon and went to town scribbling.

. . .and then she made me realize that my rule
doesn't always hold true. I guess there's a time
and a place to color on the ground.

This one's a little blurry, but still! She made an adorable
elephant for Halloween! Oh goodness!

If you can't tell from this picture, being this baby's Mama is an absolute joy. . .really just a dream come true!