learning new things

I'm amazed at how much Lyla has learned in what seems like just a few weeks. The first 12 months she was so focused on accomplishing the physical milestones and now we are really starting to see her mental development. At her 12 month appointment the pediatrician asked her where her belly was and Lyla pointed to her belly. The ped. went on to ask her where her eyes and nose were, both of which she did not know. The ped. said that most kids don't know their body parts until 15-18 months and I told her I didn't think Lyla really knew where her belly was. When she smiles at strangers she shrinks up her shoulders and then kind of rubs her belly so I thought that was what she was doing. But then a few days later I asked her where her belly was and she did point to her belly. I was shocked. She also knows where momma's nose and eyes are and that momma has two eyes. It's pretty funny. I'll ask her where momma's eyes are and she will gently touch one eye and then touch the other. Now we just need to work on teaching her where her nose and eyes are.
We have been asking her to do small tasks around the house so that she starts to learn to follow directions and so far she seems to understand everything we've asked her to do. She dropped her sippy cup the other day and milk splashed on the floor (she uses the straw sippy cups and they don't seal as well). I gave her a napkin and asked her to wipe it up, curious to see what she'd do and she actually bent down and wiped up the mess. She missed a few spots so I pointed them out and she bent back down and wiped them up. We've never shown her how to wipe up a spill so I guess she is watching us and learning from what we do. It has been fun to see her little mind working.

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the past few weeks:

Lyla had chicken nuggets for the first time. She liked them but I think she liked dipping the nuggets in ketchup more.

Her new friend Puppy. She loves sleeping with him and carrying him around. I just love how she's hugging him while she sleeps.

Making a goofy face...

I gave her a taste of Lucky Charms the other day. We don't really give her much junk but I figured that every child deserved a taste of this wonderful cereal. She kept asking for more. :-)

Lyla is practicing her model walk.

Got to love her crazy hair! I put it in pigtails and then took them out right before bed. It left quite the hairdo...