Monaloca

Move. Despite crawling and cruising on the early side, Nalani has taken her time with hands-free walking. But today, three days after her first birthday, she took her first teeny tiny steps! (And when I say teeny tiny, I mean it. We’re talking two toe-steps and then a stumble into a crawl. But probably it won’t be long now.) For over a month she’s been cruising with ease and recently started walking while holding onto a grown-up’s finger, sometimes pretty lightly. She also stands hands-free for up to 30 seconds, often while playing with a toy or reading a book, clapping, or best yet, patting her naked belly like daddy taught her.

Play. The world and all its manipulative things are Nalani’s playground. Especially things that live on shelves begging to be taken off or thrown down. Amazingly, she sometimes loves to put them back. She also gets a kick out of taking things (blocks, toys, the remote control) out of a bucket and putting them back in. Right now she prefers shakers, bells, and drums to stuffed animals and dolls. She also loves anything she can push while walking.

Eat. Nalani likes cow’s milk! Exclamation point because when I tried to give Melina milk at 12 months she flat-out rejected it – and all variations (everything from cow’s to goat’s to even chocolate) – for months. With Nalani I wised up and slowly started mixing it with breastmilk in her bottles at 11 1/2 months. By the the time she turned one the ratio tipped towards cow’s milk, and today I gave her a baby bottle full of it, cold. She hesitated (probably because it was cold) then slurped it down.

Food-wise, our baby girl – like our bigger girl – loves all fruit and meat we send her way. Unlike her big sis, Nalani likes a number of veggies, her latest favorite being broccoli.

Nalani’s third tooth (top left) finally popped through about a week before her first birthday, and a fourth (top right) isn’t far behind. (Incidentally, Nalani’s first four teeth have popped at almost the exact same ages as Melina’s first four teeth.)

Act. Nalani’s little personality is starting to shine. She’s always been a super chill little girl. Except when she hits a tired or hungry wall and is not. She’s still happy, playful, and mellow the majority of the time, but will turn on a dime more than ever. She’s already had a her first few throw-the-head-on-the-floor mini tantrums, including one at her party when I wouldn’t let her eat my piece of pizza. (In the end I caved. It was her party, after all.)

Nalani is a great night-sleeper overall but our girl refuses to nap in her crib. Correction: She naps in a crib at daycare, but not at home. With us, she’ll scream for over 45 minutes, working herself into such a state that it would be hard for her to calm down on her own. Until recently we just let her nap on one of us in the Ergo or on car rides running errands around town. But she’s getting too big for it to stay practical.

I’ve started calling Nalani “Little Joey” not only in looks but also in temperament. (Joey is one of the most easy-going people I know most of the time. But if you hit a nerve you’ll regret it. He’s also incredibly stubborn.) But then my mom mentioned that I was the same way as a toddler. We may be in for a “fun” couple of years ahead!

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