Amelie- 13 months

At 13 months, Amelie is no longer the sweet quiet baby she once was. She's now an opinionated, strong-willed little girl with quite a scream. I don't know what happened, but maybe she realized she was going to have to speak up in order to get any attention in this house.  And speak up she does.  She points and yells every morning until someone takes her outside to see the horses, and then she starts waving at them when she sees them.  She repeats this as soon as we get home in the afternoon. Her favorite word is "Huh-Zaa!" which means "who's that?" or "what's that?". Her other favorite word is "Da" which can mean dog, done, dad, or any variety of things depending on the context. She tries very hard to talk and is so happy when someone finally understands her.  She's a good eater.  Her favorite is watermelon. She has started blowing on her food after seeing me do that with food that is hot. When she is done eating, she stares at me and very deliberately picks up any remaining food on her tray, and slowly holds it out over the side and drops each piece, one by one, on the floor, watching me the whole time. She makes little faces that are just full of attitude-- a strong precursor of teenage years to come.  Her favorite toys are her picnic basket, xylophone, and stacking cups. She loves hiking. She's a good sleeper, consistently sleeping through the night. She still mostly crawls, though she can walk for short periods-- her record is 9 steps.