1 Year Old!

I have been kind of dreading this post.  Only because somewhere between 10 months and now, there was an explosion in Little Miss's brain, and the synapses in there went spewing and billowing through Her skull at lightning speed.  So much has happened that every time I sit down to record the milestones, I look at the screen.  I hover my fingers over the keys.  I think about what to say.  And I go, "GAH!" and run away.  I can't take the pressure! There is too much to remember and organize into a cohesive statement! GAH!!!But someday She might ask me for like, a scrapbook, or a baby book, or something.  And this little blog is all I will have to offer Her.  So I have to at least try, right?  Especially since there are relatives out there who keep saying things on the phone like "Whoa! Stop right there! She said what? She's talking?!"  And you guys need to know the truth.  About Miss being all Toddlery now. 
So here is my best try, and if it is extremely long-winded (you know, more than usual) then I'm sorry.  You can blame Missy, and Her insane rate of development.  Which, I might note, I did not request.  Here goes:

BODY
Well for one thing, people, She is walking.  And not a wobbly step here and there, no.  Girl is hauling it down the hall with Her sister's possessions in each hand, like Billy the Kid after a train heist.
She walks, She runs, She climbs.  She dances- She all-out, grinning, arms up like "HE-EY!" bounces and shakes Her thang.
With all this new movement has come the taste of Freedom.  And there is no.going.back.  Miss will NOT be kept still or restrained if She can help it.  She will not be carried when others walk. She Houdinis Her way out of every stroller, high chair, and grocery cart seatbelt ever invented.
Which is unfortunate because She is fearless. She wants to jump out of the stroller *while it is moving*. She wants to climb the sofa and then walk off the edge. She wants to dive down stairwells and somersault out of the tub.  This perpetually colorfully bruised child has been caught mid-air too many times to count.  And She just keeps at it. 
But She also uses Her newly myelinated nerves for good. She can roll a ball, catch it, kick it, throw it.  She can build a tower, She can hammer a peg.  She can wash Herself with a cloth, dust the furniture and baseboards, brush Her six teeth, and comb Her own wispy hair.  She can, unfortunately, work a zipper.
And one of the greatest loves of Her life now is art.  She can hold a marker or crayon or pencil and color. She can and will do it for ages.  We have a gallery full of Her masterpieces.
She can drink from a cup (still with some help) and feed Herself with a spoon or fork. Because She can, don't even think of doing it for Her.  Don't even think of helping a little bit.
This is a child who wants to do it Her darn self.  Whatever "it" is.

MIND
Her thinking muscles have bulked up, too.  Little Miss now is light years from where She was two months ago.  She is learning like crazy and thirsting for more.
Miss was never hugely into books, unless they were the tactile kind.  Or made tactile by chewing them.  Until one day we read a counting book.  After that, She started taking my finger and pointing it to similar objects on a page.  She wanted me to count.  Now we point and count no matter what we read.  We count toys and we count spoons and we count all the time.  It's interesting that Little One the bookworm always glazed over when it came to counting, but Little Miss LOVES to count and gets bored by naming objects or colors.
She is into animals, though, and also loves to go through books of animals to hear the sounds they make.  She has quite the repertoire built up, and in fact names many animals by their sound.   For example when She sees a cat She will call it a "meow-meow".
She's developed a love for books in general and will ask to read or bring a book and climb into my lap.  If it ever gets suddenly, ominously quiet in the house, Miss can usually be found in Her room, surrounded by books, studiously turning pages.  
She hears and understands practically everything.  She knows how to follow instructions like "clean up those toys", "Put all the pieces in the box", "go get your shoe and bring it to mommy", "let go of your sister's hair", "give sister a hug and kiss".
She's communicating quite a bit Herself.  She knows a lot of baby signs and words (I'm listing them below for my own memory) and can use a couple small phrases like "More milk" or "all done drink".
She most certainly knows how to say "no".  She will trip over a block on the floor, turn to it and sternly shake Her index finger at it, "No, no! No, NO!"  If She knows She's not supposed to have/touch something, She will tell it off for tempting Her.  "No, no!" She shakes Her finger at the computer cord or Her sister's lunch, "No."  But when answering a question in the negative, Her response is typically less formal.  "Do you want a snack now, Missy?"  "Uh, nope."
She loves games like peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake, and songs with motions. She's beginning to pretend; making me elaborate meals in the play-kitchen and rocking and bottle-feeding the baby-doll.
She can point to Her body parts when asked, and knows which clothing items go where.  If only they would get on by smooshing them onto the right spot, She would be dressing Herself. 
Thanks to Her older sister, Miss also understands the basic concepts of "share", "trade", and "mine".  For better or for worse. 

SPIRIT
No doubt, Little Miss still lives up to Her nickname- Smiley.  She is a happy, carefree, sweet-natured little thing.  She's nothing but love and grins, that girl. 
Unless. You cross Her.
Then look out! Little Miss is a gal that knows Her own mind, that likes things a certain way, and doesn't stand for nonsense. 
She is still rather a stickler for a punctual schedule, and if kept waiting for a meal or, especially, a nap, the wide world will know Her pain.  By Her own mandate, then, She is still taking two naps- at 9am and 1pm.  Sharp, if you please.  She sleeps from 7:30/8pm until 6/6:30am.  And is such a morning person that it hurts my un-caffeinated brain. 
She's quite independent.  She will entertain Herself for long stretches, and help Herself within the full extent of Her ability; only asking for Help if She has tried every last thing She can think of first.  In this way She has made many discoveries, like how to take the lids off of markers (no good) and how to put them back on (when She feels like it).  She wonders the (child-proofed!) house with the freedom of a second-born and is really mortally offended if Her explorations are restricted by someone closing a door. 
She is a hybrid- a cross between a social butterfly and a queen bee, always wanting to be in the middle of everything.  She has an inexhaustible supply of smiles, waves, and salutations for the masses.  While She will flirtatiously hide Her face in my shoulder, and always boomerang back to me, She is perfectly happy to go up to almost anyone for a hug or just an in-your-face grin, and then give the beauty-queen wave and coo "bah-bah" like a Southern Belle. 
She wants very, very much to do whatever Her sister is doing, especially if sister's friends are involved.  Little One is generally happy to include Her, but the times when She isn't the look on Missy's face breaks my heart into teeny tiny pieces.
Something relatively new for Little Miss is Her metamorphosis into a super affectionate little person.  She was never as snuggly as Her predecessor, until the last couple of months.  Now She loves to hug, cuddle, and trade kisses.  She frequently walks up to Her sister and lays Her head on Little One's shoulder or lap, sighing "aawwww!" and then going for a big hug and planting a "Mmmuah!" on Little One's cheek.  She never misses out on telling all of us "buh-buh" and giving hugs and kisses when we leave for work/school/yoga class, and never forgets to say "night-night" with hugs and kisses either.  Throughout the day while we are at home, She asks me to pick Her up and says "Mama" while signing for "more". It's Her way of telling me She wants me to just hold Her tight while She hugs me for awhile.  When J or Little One get home from work/school, Little Miss is instantly electrified.  She wriggles with glee, She chirps their name, She holds Her arms out for the hug She just knows is coming. When we walk to pick Little One up from school, Miss is often bouncing in Her seat repeating "Sissy! Sissy! Sissy!" all the way.  
Because Her sister is truly Her best friend.  While they have begun to compete for attention or objects at times, and to occasionally bug each other, by and large they are each other's biggest fans and have a relationship which is amazing to watch developing. 

FAVORITES

Animal:
Duck.  She's obsessed with ducks.  She knows the name, the sign, and the sound for "duck", and goes wild with all three whenever She sees one.  When we see something yellow we must investigate it to see if it might be a duck.  She has a few of Her own toy ducks, which She visits periodically during the day, rocking, hugging, kissing, and talking to them.  "Hi duck! Aww.  Aww, quack-quack.  Muuuaaah!!"

Food:
SALMON.  I have to capitalize that, to show the immensity of Little Miss's love for SALMON.  The child can eat as much of it as I can, and that is no joke.  She will eat it any day, any time, in a box with a fox on a train in the rain.  SALMON. 
She also loves: All fruit, broccoli, raw carrots, tomatoes (with a passion), rice, oatmeal, rice-cakes, raisins, shredded wheat, edamame, lima beans, peas, milk of any variety, whatever you are having.
She is not so hot on: avocado (don't try to hide it in something else. She knows.), bread, anything She can't feed Herself.
Some things She either loves or hates, depending on the day: Kale, brussel sprouts, tofu, meat/chicken, lettuce, lemons. 
Everything else She has tried so far is ok. She likes it, She'll eat it.  But the above She has a serious opinion about. 


Activities:
Coloring (top of the list), banging the piano, playing with a phone or ipad, walking, playing in dirt, baths, stacking anything, sliding, climbing, cuddling, sitting with a pile of mardi gras beads and putting them ALL on, one at a time, following Little One around, drinking from a straw. Giggling. 

Shoes:
Deserves it's own category.  I think it was Her next actual word, after "more".  Little Miss love love love love LOVES shoes.  We keep ours in the entry closet because we take them off when we come in.  We must be on guard that the closet door is not ajar, or Miss will sneak in there and gather them all to Her in a splendid horde of shoe opulence. We will find Her, the eye in a jumbled hurricane of shoes, picking them up one at a time.  She holds it in front of Her like a religious artifact and ogles it- "Ooooohhhh". She gives it a hug, or rubs it lovingly on Her cheek.  She holds it up to Her foot, as if for size, then tries to put it on, chanting, "Shhooooesh! Shoooeeesh! Shoooooeeesshhh!" 
She points out strangers shoes, She shows off Her own.  She leads me to the closet door and presses Herself against it, looking up at me imploringly, signing for "more", and whispering longingly, "Shoooooeeeeshh!"

Music:
She has a strong predilection for rock and roll, particularly of the old school variety.  Much as the broadway musical station has become a Pandora regular for us thanks to Little One, the Blues Brothers channel is there for Little Miss to rock out to.  "Johnny Be Good" is a particular favorite. 

UNFAVORITES
Getting wet outside the tub.  The ocean, for instance, is not fun. 
Vacuum cleaners.  The roomba, especially.  They terrify Her.
Sudden, loud noises. Like a knock on the door, a passing motorcycle, or Little One jumping out from behind the sofa hollering, "76 TROM-BONES IN-A BIG PARADE!!!"
Bibs.  I've pretty much given up.
Hats. Hoods, especially. 
The unlicensed use of Her copyrighted word "no". 

STATS:

Body Parts She can point to:
eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, hair, arms, hands, feet, toes, and tummy

Signs that She knows and uses:
More, all done, eat/food, thirsty/drink, milk, sleepy, diaper change, potty, book, up, share, duck, butterfly, bear, bird, baby.  She has made up Her own signs for mommy and sister. 

Words:
Mommy, Dada, Sissy, more, all done, yum-yum, drink, milk, fish, dog, meow-meow (cat), tweet-tweet (bird), beep-beep (nose. because ours beep when She pushes them.), voom (car), duck, yep, nope, no, go, up, down, hi, bye-bye, night-night, this, that, book, shoes, help, blue, green. And a word I can't make out which means "I want that" but sounds like "aaaahh-m-doh". 

People Wrapped Tightly Around Her Finger (In order):
Daddy, Sister and Mommy, Rest of the world. 


CONCLUSION OF THESIS:

Whew.  I never thought I'd get enough time with both my laptop and lap to myself to get all that down.  Still, I'm sure I've left stuff out.  But I hope this long, long post will help me remember in another fast-paced year or 20 what Little Miss was like at one adorable year.
Overall She is a person who lights up a room like a searchlight-sized bulb.  She's extremely fun to be around, and She melts my heart about a hundred times a day.  She's busy, busy, busy, learning everything She can, loving everyone as much as possible, and growing into an amazing little girl.  What a difference a year makes! In Little Miss, and in all of our lives as well.   
We love you Little Miss!