Athena is 14 months old

... and getting cuter every day!



Athena's communication skills continue to grow.  Our latest count puts her at about 13 words and 22 signs.  Yesterday we had dinner at the aquarium and she worked on "fish" (or, in Athena-speak, "BSH!" with wiggly hands).  "Bye bye," Mazie's first word, has also gotten very clear:


Along with all of her individual words, we can tell that her thought processes are becoming more complex... we can have longer conversations, like the other night when she wanted to nurse (making her sign for milk), and I explained that we were first going to have a bath, then read a book, and then have milk and go to sleep.  She watched intently and then happily marched to the stairs to go up for bathtime.  It's also so fun to get glimpses into her own original thoughts.  A couple of weeks ago we were going to watch one of Caleb's soccer games and as we were walking across the fields toward the game I turned around and she had stopped a ways behind me -- her hands were on the ground and she was attempting a somersault.  We had gone to gymnastics earlier in the day, and apparently she was just suddenly struck with the urge to practice her skills!  (A day or two later she successfully pulled off her first solo somersault at Ahya's house.)  Here's another game she made up on her own:


In a development that is both cute and a little troubling, she has found her "no."  When offered a food she doesn't want or asked to do something else she doesn't want to do, she shakes her head and repeats, "nonononono" with perfect little o-shaped lips.

"Doggie" is another favorite word & sign, and both Wiley and Bailey (she also knows "cat" and does a pretty cute "meow") are big hits.  She loves to cuddle Wiley and give him enthusiastic pats, and also enjoys holding on to his tail and following him around.  He is very tolerant of her affection.  Bailey is more elusive... she tends to run away when Athena comes after her, which makes her an especially exciting sight around the house.  And of course, the MOST exciting family member is Mazie.  Mirroring the enthusiasm that Mazie has always shown towards her, Athena now starts most days by jumping on her sister and squealing.  They are quite the pair.

From October 2012