Little Walker

Sasha has been walking for the past few weeks now and I still can't get over it. With her petite size, she looks like a little walking baby. Her little excited steps make me happy every time I see her. She's now walking around the house in circles. I'll sit down on the living room floor and she'll walk up to me and give me a big hug. Then she'll walk away from me towards our front door. Just before she reaches the door, she'll turns around and excitedly walk back to me, giggling and squealing, and gives me another huge hug. She keeps doing this repeatedly...wander away from mom....run back to mom and hug me. I know that babies do this sort of wander then return orbiting behavior when they first start becoming mobile but it still is really fun to watch. I know eventually the distances she will travel from me will grow farther and farther until she one day stops returning back to me and asserts her independant self. Until then, I'm enjoying it.

Cassie and Sasha have been having fun together. It really makes me happy to see the two of them playing and having a good time. When Cassie goes to school, Sasha signs her sign language equivalent of "Cassie" (we use the sign for girl as the sign that represents cassie). She'll often give me this concerned look and signs "Cassie" and I have to show her Cassie's room and explain that Cassie is not home, she's at school but will be back. After she looks at Cassie's bed, she finally becomes convinced that Cassie isn't there and has me take her to Cassie's pictures on the hallway wall. After she looks at the pictures for a while, she points at them, signs "Cassie" a few more times, then she's ready to go play something else. "Cassie" is by far her most commonly used sign. She has been signing eat, drink, and sleep a lot more lately though.

One thing that has us worried lately is Sasha's appetite, or lack of. I do wish she would eat more real food. Instead she mostly relies on nursing. I haven't posted the results of her 12-month doctor visit, but the news was disappointing. She had not gained any height, and barely any weight in the last 3 months. So we've been experimenting with different foods lately to see what we can and can't get her to eat. So far, it looks like she'll eat most anything her dad feeds her, but if I try to feed her she doesn't want it. We believe that because I've been the mean one that had to try to feed her foods she didn't like, she's suspicious of anything I give her. But in my defense, someone had to learn that she didn't like broccoli and zucchini, hehe. I wouldn't have known that without trying! She seems to basically like foods that her dad likes...and that's not much. He's pretty picky too. She likes meats, beef jerky, coffee, doughnuts, and tea. Alas I am not going to feed her coffee and doughnuts. We bought her some caffeine free herbal fruit teas from a local tea shop and she seems to be okay with those but they stain her clothes and face. She is still refusing milk in any form.
Today she did eat well, I admit. She ate some salmon with rice in the morning, then for dinner she ate some spicy jambalaya. Good girl!