The great communicator

They say babies who are working on one skill tend to focus so much on what they are learning that they don't make as much progress in other areas.

Well, at 13 months old, little everydayBaby has been working hard on her communication skills. She now can "give 5" when we ask her, smacking her tiny little hand against the giant hand of whomever asked. She says, "HI! HI!" in greeting when she enters the room. And she waves her hands furiously, trying to mock the sign for "more" when she wants more to eat.

Of course, "ma-ma-ma-ma" is her fall-back word. She hums it when she's playing. She screams it when she's mad. And she calls for me when she wants something.

When she's done eating, she removes everything on her tray. It usually goes on the floor if no one is looking, but she's happy to hand it over if she has a willing recipient.

Meanwhile, she has been at a standstill, so to speak, in her gross motor skills. She will take about three steps at a time, and then she just sits down. She does the one knee-one foot walk/crawl to get around or cruises along the walls and furniture.

She has gained the nick-name "Hip Rider" because of her preference to be carried around on someone's hip. She even tries to "steer" by pointing in the direction she wants to go and calling out commands like "Dat, dat!"

And as much as we all try to remind each other, "DON'T PICK HER UP!"... it seems that none of us can resist.