There is so much to say about everything that she has been doing that I don't even know where to start.... Let's see. Walking. She took her first steps without holding onto anything about a week before she was 9 months old, so she has been working on that. Fortunately, she has been pretty cautious about the whole thing. She has fallen a couple of times which I think instilled a little bit of fear in her and I am very thankful for that. I don't need a little dare devil running around-I'm crazy enough as it is and heaven knows I don't have the nerves for a crazy kid. When she does walk, it is strictly on her terms. She will start out holding onto the furniture and totter 5 or 6 steps into the middle of the floor. All of a sudden she will stop and you can almost see the recognition of what she is doing flash across her face and she sits down. I try to get her to hold my hands and walk between my legs, but she absolutely will not have it. My mom bought her a little walker a couple months ago, and she won't use it. I think we have a little Miss Independent on our hands (I can't imagine where she gets that). Her preferred method of getting around is still her goofy crab crawl, which honestly, I will probably be sad when she stops doing it because it is just too darn funny (I really need to post a video so you all can share in my amusement).
Caroline has become quite the chatter box as well. I actually kind of love it. Hearing her babble on and on makes just makes me smile because it is such a happy noise. When we were in Lafayette over Christmas, Sugar (Steven's mom) was amazed at how noisy she was. She even made the comment that she has never heard a baby that is as chatty as Caroline. And coming from Sugar, that means something because she has bounced and rocked more babies than... Well, anyone else I know (BIG Cajun family). Caroline, as I mentioned a month or two ago said "Dada" first, and she has also been saying "Mama" here and there, but the only time that she really uses it is when she is standing up in her bed crying and refusing to go to sleep. Go figure. I also think she has been trying to say Fred and Jack. Some times when she sees Jack, she will say "Ag". Ok, I know that she is totally missing the "J" and "ck" sound, but she is trying.
With all the jabbering she does, she has also started to talk with her hands. She will rattle something off to me and hold her little hands up like "I mean, am I right?". Caroline points at everything now, jabbers something about it, and then turns around to look at me like I know what she is talking about. Upon seeing her point, my mom, the sweet woman she is, taught Caroline how to shake her finger. So now, I have a tiny tyrant in the making, shaking her finger at me when I am not getting her food ready fast enough or at people in the grocery store. Thanks Mom!
She is in perpetual motion, and this was the best pic I could get of her :( She NEVER sits still. Sugar (Steven's mom) even said that he wasn't quite as busy as she is and that he would at least stop and study something for a little bit. Not Caroline. The only thing/toy that she will play with for longer than 30 seconds at a time is a book. She has a lot of the little board books with the flaps you can lift up and she will play with those longer than anything else.
Still just can't leave the blue bird alone
I have been trying and trying to teach her how to clap her hands, but she just was not interested. I had all but given up, and just a couple days ago she got really excited about something and started clapping her hands! Just goes to show you that they will do things in their own time. At the end of Stroller Strides, we always get the kids out of the strollers and sing a goofy little song for them. There is a part at the end of the song where you clap. Yesterday, Caroline was busy exploring the mall and wasn't really paying much attention to the song as usual, but when we started clapping, she stopped and looked around. Her eyes lit up and she started clapping with us. I am starting on her admissions essays to Harvard as we speak, because clearly she is a genius.
Caroline can definitely tell the difference between the dogs now too. If you ask her "Where is Jack?", she will point to Jack and the same for Fred. She is getting better at "Where is Mommy/Daddy?", but she isn't quite there yet. I think she probably knows the names of the dogs better because she hears me 
STILL drooling like crazy. Two of her top teeth popped through on my birthday (New Years Eve), but now she is working on another one that is just right under the surface. I will be so glad when these teeth are in.
Another development that isn't so cute is Caroline's new game: dropping/throwing anything and everything (She had just dropped blue bird in this picture). Steven and I are both about to pull our hair out. I would say that this is the first "behavior" issue we've had. It is the most frustrating thing in the world, especially for a control/neat freak like me. The most irritating part is that she will take something in her hand, look right at you with this "Yeah, what are you going to do about it?" look and just toss whatever she is holding over the side of the high chair/crib/stroller/carseat etc. We're trying really hard not to encourage her by paying attention to it and of course, when she does it, we do not give the item back to her. But still! This little habit has put her finger food eating on hold. She gets the biggest thrill out of feeding Fred and Jack. Anything I give her, she throws in the floor and then giggles as the dogs freak out and slurp it up. I think Fred eats more Baby Mum Mums than Caroline these days. Oh well, as with everything, this too shall pass. I'm sure I'll look back on this "adorable" behavior some day and miss it.... But probably not ;)
Whew. I think that is about it. As you can tell, Caroline is changing more and more every day. Gotta run-I've got a first birthday party to plan! ;)
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