Little Junie Things

I'm falling behind on documenting things I don't want to forget, so here are some of the latest June-isms.

Whatever she is eating, she stuffs it all into her mouth. I like to think it is for maximum taste exploration. Every tastebud learns the flavor of pineapple, cheese, Kix, etc. Her mouth gets so full the food sprays out a little bit.

In the last few days she started to stand up directly from a seated position. She stands there, arms out for balance, and her face declares how pleased she is with herself.

She is obsessed with the dog and tries various ways to lead us to the back of the house. Once there she declares, "dog" or "woof woof woof" and then cries if we do not open the back door. She either crawls there, leads us there as she walks holding our fingers, or asks to be "up" and then starts to say "dog" repeatedly. I wonder often if it is really the dog she loves, or if it is just outside. Over the weekend, little crabby June turned into little peaceful June just by stepping over the threshold of inside to outside.

In the last week or so she's started saying "miu." Which sounds like me-ooh, but really quick and with an emphasis on the "me" and the "ooh" barely even audible. As she says it she is usually putting her hands inside my shirt.

Her comprehension of words is becoming a lot more obvious. For example, she clearly looks when you say "look" now. And if you are pointing she follows the direction of your finger.
Her memory is obvious too. Yesterday she saw a blanket she hadn't seen in a week. It is a handmade blanket given to her and made by her great aunt Pat. [The same aunt Pat who helped me make this.] It has little paw prints and dogs all over it, and a super-soft edge. As stated before, she really loves dogs, so she points at them on the blanket and says, "dog!" with much enthusiasm. Well anyway, she did the first time it was presented to her. I had no idea how she'd respond a week later, but there it was, she saw the blanket and immediately started searching the fabric for the dog prints.

I just love watching as she grows into a little person. My friend Emery described it well recently. She said that June seems to have gotten smaller rather than bigger because she suddenly went from being this huge baby to being this tiny little person. I think that is an apt description.