Where does the time go?

I think I notice the passage of time even more obviously now that Liesl is here, particularly when I’m folding her clothes or swapping out her smaller clothes for larger sizes. She changes so much, and watching her practice/refine certain fine or gross motor skills (like her pincer grasp, walking, squatting, drinking out of her sippy cup, etc.) is pretty neat.

Now that Liesl is walking, it seems like our baby became a little toddler overnight! When I look at her, I appreciate how much she’s grown and blossomed in the past ten months, and how far Pete and I have come as parents since she was born. We’re more accepting of our new role as parents, and are continuously learning how to balance things gracefully — work, family time, date nights — with a little one in our lives.

Feeding
Liesl prefers to feed herself nowadays. She holds her bottle, enjoys eating big-people food, and walks over to her high chair when it’s time to eat. This clearly means that mealtimes are a lot messier, but it also means we get to rotate through her cute outfits more frequently! She particularly loves toast and butter, meat (any and all kinds), cheese (can you tell she’s Pete’s daughter?), and all vegetables. She isn’t a huge fan yet of fruits, and I think it’s either the acidity or sweetness that detracts here. Bananas seem to be okay, though.

Talking
Liesl recently started making a high-pitched screech, which isn’t a yell or a sign of discontent; it seems like she’s just practicing the different sounds she can make. Although this one is particularly unpleasant for Pete and me, she seems to enjoy making it.

I don’t know; based on their faces below, they look like they enjoy being loud together!

When we were in Las Vegas, people commented on her deep voice and loud volume. Although she’s a little girl, she’s got a mature sounding voice and isn’t shy about being loud! She must get this from her daddy.

Teething
Liesl has eight teeth now — four on the top and four on the bottom — and seems to have more coming in all the time. She’s a drooling fool right now, and a bit more fussy than normal, which leads me to think that she’s getting even more teeth. Her front eight teeth are perfect for biting soft foods into small pieces, like cheese (or Minnie Mouse).

Favorites
While we were in Vegas, we took her to the local splash park for the first time with her cousins, Audrey and Beau. She LOVED it, as we figured she would. She truly loves being outside and really enjoys playing in the water. The heat in Vegas was a bit more intense than in Hawaii, and the splash park make playing outside more bearable for everyone. (To read about our trip and see more photos, please visit that blog post.)

Liesl also loves exploring and walking — just because she can! While we used to go on long walks and keep her in the stroller the entire time, we recently started letting her play at the local park since she can simply walk around and explore her surroundings.

She loves playing with her soft toys later in the day, and laying down on them when she’s tired. It looks like she’s having mini-wrestling matches with them. It is the cutest thing to watch, and cracks me up every time she does it.

Since she’s getting bigger, she graduated from getting her bath in the laundry room sink to the bathtub upstairs! Pete plays some of his favorites tunes during bath time, and she and he will dance, play, and laugh during “their time” of the day. She thinks the drain is fascinating, likes doing barrel rolls in the few inches of water, and chomps on her rubber ducky. All in all, good times!