This past month, Liesl said her first word (dada) which nearly brought Pete to tears. In fact, he marked it down as one of the best days of his life.

She unofficially ate her first cockroach, which prompted me to vacuum out all the windowsills in the house (which is where all the dead ones seem to collect). As some of you know, cockroaches and geckos are really common here in Hawaii, even if you keep a super clean home. We see these critters in our house on the regular, so it was only a matter of time before this happened. (Liesl has even handed me live, three-inch-long cockroaches as a “present” that she picked up while my head was turned. Gross!)

She now sleeps without her sleep sack. We started using a sleep sack after she outgrew her swaddle blankets (which she loved), and she recently began wriggling out of them during her sleep somehow. She seems to sleep just fine without it.

She started making a squealing/shrieking shout to express her discontent, particularly when done eating and in her highchair. “Let me down, guys! I’m done eating and ready to play!” This sound is like nails on a chalkboard to both Pete and me, and hopefully it’s just a passing phase.

When it’s time to go outside, she walks herself out the door and heads over to her stroller. It’s so nice having a little one that can walk! The time spent outdoors with Liesl are moments marked by happy smiles.

She refuses to keep any hair pretties in her hair, to my chagrin. It’s rare for me to take any photos nowadays that include any of her cute bows or headbands!

She’s recently started sitting in her toddler chair, and really likes to climb on it. In the afternoons, she’ll take her book out of the toy bin, walk over to her chair, and practice flipping pages (or eating the corners).

She’s likes following Pete around the house like a little puppy. This is such a nice change, as she used to be such a little mama’s girl! She’s learned that whenever Pete’s in the kitchen, she’ll usually get fed (even it’s not feeding time). During snack time in the afternoon, she particularly enjoys eating jalapeno string cheese and the baby version of cheese puffs.

She loves going into the bathroom and pulling the toilet paper off the roll. One time, she unrolled an entire roll before I could stop her!

In a few short weeks, my parents are flying out here and we’re all taking a trip to Kauai. September has so many moments to celebrate — their 38th wedding anniversary, our second wedding anniversary, Liesl’s first birthday, and Pete’s birthday — and I’m excited for the opportunity for us all to be together!