I wrote the post below back in September but never finished it up and posted it. Better late than never, I guess? I feel badly that I haven't kept a good record on this blog of Bridget's milestones and endearing little traits. We do love her SO much and enjoy her hugely. I love having big kids to share in the fun.
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[Originally from September 21st.]
How are you a toddler and not a baby anymore?? Nearer two than one?! My sweet Bridget Rose, time goes too fast.
A few months before she turned one, our friendly baby was saying "hi!" or "hiya!" to lots of people. She still likes to greet people (though she's very attached to Mama and hyperventilates in church nursery). In the last few weeks she's finally differentiated "hi" from "bye" (both sounded pretty similar before; now she says the "b"). At the girls' soccer practice, she waved "bye" to the dad who coached and blew him kisses when we left.
About a month ago, Bridget started clearly saying "Abba" for Abby. More recently, she says "Saza" for Josiah. Clara and Lydia's names are more garbled. She has long said "Pa" (since last Christmas? maybe even Thanksgiving?), though this summer it tended more toward "Baba." "Damumum" or something similar is "Grandma." She calls for Dada and Mama when she wakes up early in the morning, but sometimes she yells "Mom! Mo-o-ommmm!" like the big kids.
While Bridget often resorts to screeching to communicate displeasure or desire, she still signs "please" (a version of which she signs to request nursing) and waves her hands when saying "all done." When asked to speak politely--or say "thank you," etc.--she often complies sweetly with an attempt at imitation.
Bridget loves Beatrix, the "dog-dog," and pantomimes and laughs at many of Beatrix's actions. She loves to hold her leash (and screeches to get a chance if the bigger kids have Beatrix out on it). She also likes to play a "dog-dog" game with Clara, in which Clara is the dog and Bridget the master, who calls out "Dog-dog! Dog-dog!" and clicks/clucks and calls her as they run around the house.
I love Bridget's effort to have conversation about daily events. She acts out an anecdote, adding in sound effects and words, watching our faces, eager for recognition and amusement. She's definitely turning into a little ham and has a ready audience to laugh at her routines.
Long a music-lover, Bridget now likes to sing her own little songs sometimes (usually with head wagging time, often quietly sweet while nursing before nap or bed). She says "bump-bump" after the Appleseed Song at suppertime, raises her hands in worship at church, and loves to dance to sea shanties and Irish folk at home. She loves when I sing songs while nursing her, especially when accompanied by "rubby."
Perhaps a month or two after her first birthday, Bridget started saying "ous" or "outs" for "outside." These days it's getting clearer and very insistent. She loves to be outside, especially with a sibling. She has taken me by the hand and led me to a door to ask to go "outs"; sometimes she also leads me to the bike shed to request a bike ride. Last week I bought her a second-hand Micro Mini scooter (three-wheeled, so more stable than the big kids' scooters). She was thrilled with the gift and has already become a pro--she can scooter like the best of them, balance well, and glide, though she still struggles with turns. She's already trying tricks (like jumping--from the example of Big Brother).
Also like her big brother, Bridget uses lots of lively sound effects in talking with us. "Om" in a growly sort of voice means she wants to bite or eat (or did already). Sometimes she chases her siblings around with a threat of "om om," meaning she might bite. She enjoys the power of commanding fear. Like Josiah did, she makes a slurping sound to indicate she wants to drink water. Of course, the big kids devolve in their language to her baby talk when offering her things: "Bridget, do you want 'om om'?"
One of my favorite things Bridget says is "wow"; but it's not just "wow," it's "Wo-o-ow"--very expressive and impressed. She usually says it about big trucks that go by, loud sounds, airplanes, etc., but sometimes she'll pull it out about something relatively common or mundane and make us all laugh. When driving, I hear her "wow!" from the back seat if we pass a construction site with bulldozers, cranes, etc. that she can see from her window. She throws herself onto the couch and clambers up to look out the window and exclaim "Wow! Woowww!" when the garbage truck goes by on Monday mornings.
Bridget thought her toots were funny before she turned one, and months ago she started trying to toot after one inadvertently came out. She'd strain and smile and then giggle at her success. Then she started saying "toots" (more t's and s's and less "oo"), also several months ago. Now she distinguishes between bodily functions and lets me know when she's done "poo-poo" or "toots." She likes privacy for #2 and often makes herself scarce when the need arises. (Yesterday she was in the hall closet, checking out the vacuum [a favorite] while stinking it up.)
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Well, I cut off a little abruptly in September... but at least I have a snapshot of what Bridget was up to then. :)
