Lila @ 13 months

Not doing monthly letters anymore... seemed to be a right time to stop, and I plan on doing them for the first year of all my children.  Like a baby book.  But, I'd still like to record what life is like and what my baby is like every month.  And I'll write letters to Lila on all of her birthdays.  Anyway, here is what Lila is like at 13 months--

• Walking full-time now.  Doesn't crawl anymore.  As soon as she learned how to stand up on her own, it wasn't long before she was walking all over the place.  Lately she has loved to pull/carry things as she walks... large bags, particularly, lol.  Sometimes she walks with her little arms pushed back behind her and that's super cute.
• She has 8 teeth but is getting 4 molars.  She absolutely hates getting her teeth brushed.  It's impossible to do with a toothbrush so we have to use a washcloth around one of our fingers.  She happily plays with her toothbrush when we give it to her though and puts it in her mouth and kind of pretends to brush her teeth.  She also likes to "brush" our teeth.
• Still not eating!  And it's really starting to bug me, lol.  I really think something is wrong and that she'll need to see a specialist.  It's gotten worse these past few weeks... we've been busy with the move and off a schedule and she hasn't been feeling like herself, with her molars coming in and a cold.  She refuses to be fed and often say "no" or "no-no" now when we try to offer her food.  A lot of times she'll close her eyes and shake her head too with a frown, like it's offensive or something.  Sometimes she spits food out if she's taken a bite.  She's declining graham crackers, which used to be her favorite.  I'm hoping that once we're settled into our house she'll get better.  
• She still loves nursing.  Mostly, I still love it too.  But it is starting to bug me that she's not eating.  I don't think that the nursing is causing her not to eat.  Because most babies gradually learn how to love food on their own.  Today she nursed a LOT, like for maybe 2 hours just to suck.  She's not feeling well.  It completely relaxes her.  She doesn't bite at all, which is good, because it would be over if she did and she would... starve?  I don't know.  
• She can say "mama," "dada," "dodden" which means dad and dog, "no" which is one of her favorite words, "hello" which sounds like "hi-ya!", sometimes she says "baby" or "hi-ya baby" and she babbles a lot.  Sometimes she does this singing thing that sounds like yodeling.  A lot of her babbling sounds French.
• She likes to make farting noises or blow raspberries, whatever you call it.  The other day she let out some big toots and then made a farting noise with her mouth when she was done.  It was funny!  And the next day she pooped, and when she was done she clapped for herself.
• She loves clapping for herself.  She does it for herself a lot... after she rolls a ball to us, when she climbs up or down a stair, after she accomplishes just about anything.  
• She loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider song and always claps at the end.  She tries doing the spider motions with her fingers, adorable.
• She's starting to be a big snuggle-bug.  Whenever she touches anything soft, a lot of times she'll lay down on it or rest her head on it and pet it.  She even did this to my laptop when we were Skyping with my parents tonight.  I always say, "Awwww" when she does it and she likes that.  She'll sit back up and then lean back down over and over again really fast just to hear me say "aww."
• Now when I ask her for a hug, she'll walk over and give me one!  It is so sweet!!  She usually climbs into my lap, and rests her head on my shoulder too.  Sometimes she'll lean her face/cheeks to me so that I can give her kisses when I ask.
• She loves being outside!  She especially loves the porch and deck at our house.  Today she went in and out of the sliding glass door and loved it.  When I was carrying her past the front door she whined and reached toward it to go outside.  It'll be a fun summer.  
• She absolutely loves dogs.  She was trying to get a neighbor dog to chase her the other day... walking away from it and looking over her shoulder to try to lure it.
• She loves it when I "chase" her too... I usually crawl behind her and say, "I'm gonna get you!" and she smiles and walks slowly away, looking over her shoulder, and sometimes she stops so that I can grab her and tickle her.  Love it.
• On my birthday we took her to dinner with us.  She did not want to stay in the booth, but wanted to walk around the restaurant.  So now we know that if we really want to enjoy a meal, we need to get a baby sitter.
• Her hair is getting longer.  She has a little bit of a baby-mullet, but her long hair has a wave to it that's pretty.  She pulls bows out of her hair almost immediately, so we don't do bows anymore.  I did put a piggy on top of her head the other day (pointed to the side) and that was really cute and makes her look like a little girl.
• She loves making a surprised face.  She opens her mouth and her eyes wide and looks so surprised.  That always makes us laugh.  And she does it over and over again. When Mike and Cassandra were having their big divorce talk the other night, we sent Mike a picture of it while he was talking to her and we all laughed so hard.  
• She loves stuffed animals and hugs them.
• Jake noticed that she loves mechanical things.  She always tries to copy him when he's fixing something.  Loves to poke things into holes.  Loves opening and closing doors.
• Likes being around other kids.
• Tries to climb the back of the couch now to push the buttons on the thermostat.  Sometimes is able to do it successfully.
• Can slide off our (tall) queen bed now on her belly.  She knows not to go near the edge otherwise and only fell off one time (and I felt horrible) months ago.  
• Likes Emily and Mike.  One time Mike was visiting and she kept giving him hugs and cuddles and saying "dada."  I think she thought Mike was Jake.
• At the carpet store the other day, Jake was at the front of the warehouse talking to the salesman and we were at the back.  She walked across the store to him, happily saying, "Dada!  Dodden!  Dada!" the whole time.  Once she got up to him she smiled, looked up to him, and said, "Dada!  Hi-ya!"
• She hates it when I'm preparing dinner.  She whines and cries and pulls on my pants while I'm standing at the counter.  When I pick her up, she's happy, but then if I sent her back on the floor she cries like she is heartbroken.
• She likes baths now.  When I try to take a shower during the day she stands outside of the tub and tries to climb in.  She likes walking around in there while I'm showering.  Doesn't really play when she's taking a bath though... doesn't splash a lot or play with toys.  Just sits there or likes to stand up.  I think she likes showers more.
• Loves being naked.  She'll like summer.
• She still loves climbing stairs.
• Does pretty well with strangers, but sometimes gets shy/smiley and buries her head in my neck.
• Generally loves being in primary with all the kids.
• Is generally a really happy, quiet, peaceful baby.  People comment on that a lot, how well-behaved and laid-back she is.