D is for "Defiance"

As her first birthday has come and gone, Aurelia has made several leaps and bounds in the vocabulary department. I don't know what it is about being an official 'toddler', but her word bank expanded from "Bah" and "Dada" seemingly overnight to include sounds we assume to be "doggie", "duck", "Ma", "book", and, mine and Mema's personal favorite: "cookie". Before you show concern for my poor parenting skills, she does not know this word because I feed her so many cookies she knows to ask for them. "Cookie" refers to blue (or other colors) fuzzy creatures who live on Sesame Street. She has also picked up other mannerisms which are adorable at the same time as confounding. She walks, like a champ; by which I mean she starts out, falls and picks herself back up without the assistance of furniture. She points and know what she means by the gesture--regardless of anyone else's understanding. She chases the dog and runs with a pillow just to be able to trip and fall face-first into it. She rolls on the ground with a giant white bunny, a well-thought-out gift from Grandma.

All cuteness aside and among all these new games, Aurelia has learned to defy me. When I let her walk around a store, she is easily distracted by low-shelved items. I reach for her hand to lead her away and along only to see her jerk her hand or entire body away from me; she has her own agenda. If she is getting into something (and she is always getting into something) that I don't want her in, I remove her or the thing only to have her shriek in protest and attempt to regain her former position. She gets mad at toys that smack her in the face. She throws empty food containers away in disgust. She hates when I go from room to room, trying to get some work done. My Aurelia is a treat.

In other news, 28 weeks pregnant is creeping up on us. I can feel Baby Boy in every open (and not so open) inch of my torso. Over the weekend, I could feel his tiny butt sticking up into my ribs; every time I bent over, I felt like he was bruising my lungs. Yes, I am out of shape, but the huffing and puffing is his fault at this point; I swear! He never stops moving, and I love it. Despite that, it is different than when I was pregnant with Aurelia. I talk to him less, and I remember feeling like I would miss the kicking when she was born. This time, I think I'll be happy to have the infant and even happier to have my body to myself. It feels like it is coming up so soon, but that I have been pregnant for so long.