I'm A Big Kid Now

Turning 13 months means some big changes around the Clark household for Miss. Bella.  Since she had finally recovered from all her so-called "vaccine reactions" we decided it was time to get rid of her bottles.  Bella has been using sippy cups for water since she was about 7 months old and NEVER refuses her milk so I thought the transition would be a breeze.  HA!!!! Talk about a strong-willed child.  The first day I gave her half her regular morning milk in a bottle, then I showed her that I was putting all the bottles away and explained that since she was a big girl she would now be using a sippy cup (different than the one for water) for her milk.  Never did I expect WWIII to break out but my did the kicking and screaming begin.  I am a huge believer in the "cry it out" method for all things...sleep training, getting rid of paci's, getting rid of bottles so this was just a matter of how long I could take the crying!  Let me tell you, ladies and gentleman, it took SIX days of colossal fit throwing before she caved.  Anytime she saw that sippy cup she would throw herself on the floor and have an all out tantrum and therefore had not a drop of milk the whole six days.  Finally I thought just maybe if we try a different sippy cup she will give in.  So we went to Target and let her choose the cups she wanted.  Of course she choose the Nuby brand....the one brand I didn't want to use because it looks way too much like a bottle (the spout is very much like a bottle nipple).  Anyway, we went with it and that night put her milk in it.  She didn't ever put it to her mouth but she at least held it for a few minutes without a peep.  The next morning (yesterday)....SUCCESS!!!  It was so funny, you could see her inner turmoil...she wanted the milk so bad but wanted to let me know she wasn't happy about how she had to drink it so she would take a few sips, cry, take a few sips, cry, etc!!  Yesterday afternoon I thought to myself, "I wonder if this has anything to do with the type of cup or if it is just about it not being her bottle".  Sure enough, I tried the original sippy cups I wanted her to use for milk and of course she drank it without ANY problem.  What a little stinker!!!! At least she knows, mama is boss!!  Needless to say, she was in such a great mood yesterday.  It is amazing how torn up her world was over the loss of the bottle.  We are also phasing in whole milk but doing it slowly given her history of milk allergy as a baby.  So far, so good...praying for continued success.

Yesterday she also took 4 steps all by herself on three separate occasions...she actually let go of the table and walked to me!!  Oh, I pray my hand-holding days are soon to be over!!!!!  Since she is becoming such a big girl in so many other ways we finally ordered her next car seat.  She climbed right in when it arrived!

My big girl also seems to be learning words at a ridiculous pace.  She can say "look","please", "cracker", "snack", and her new animal sounds are "ooo-ooo-aaa-aaa" for Monkey and some serious bubble blowing for bumble bees!  Every morning I walk into her room and she is pointing to her bow holder from her crib and the first thing she wants to do is put a bow in her hair.....LOVE IT!!!!!  She also attempts to put her shoes on...she can un-Velcro them and puts them near her feet but can't get her foot in.  And her sweetest "trick" is to tell you where Jesus lives: