Summer's Summary

It has been a long time since I've given an update on Summer's comings and goings and she has so many cute little antics that I want to remember and I just NEED to sit down and record them. So here's a quick update on what this little cutie has been up to:
-First, she's now 14 months old and I never mentioned that she is walking! And really now she's more like running. :) This girl is on the move! She took her first steps about a week after she turned 1 (almost identical to Dixie who took her first steps the day after she turned 1) and she hasn't stopped moving since! She seems to have an intuitive sense of her abilities and cause and effect situations... i.e. if she's up on a higher surface (like the fireplace hearth), she has never tried to just walk off the edge. She just seems to know that doing so will equal a big owie. So she sits on her bum and scoots off the edge until she can reach the floor. We never taught her that. She seems to take after her big sister in that she is incredibly smart for her age.
-She is already talking quite well! She can pretty much repeat anything you say (provided it's only 1 to 2 words), but some of her best ones are 'Daddy', 'Mommy', 'Ummy', 'I Love You', 'Popcorn' (and she'll do the hand popping actions to "Popcorn Popping"), 'Amen', and my personal favorite is 'Ah Man!'. This one is off of Dora The Explorer when Dora and her friend, Boots, say "Swiper no swiping!" (Swiper is a fox) and they say it three times and then Swiper says "Ah, Man!" Well, we can say "Swiper no swiping" (3x) and then we'll stop and Summer will chime in with "Ahh Man!" It is hilarious! Like I said... she's super smart.

-She absolutely LOVES the outdoors and will occasionally pitch a fit if she can't go outside (especially if she sees us open the door and then close it, or if we try to bring her in from being outside). She's just a born outdoorsy girl (takes after her Daddy). :)
-Oh, one thing that just cracks me up... she loves to take an article of clothing (usually something of Dixie's that's lying around) and wrap it around her shoulders (like a shawl) and just start walking around. It is so funny! It's just totally random! And that has evolved into putting things over her head and walking around that way too and then waiting for us to say "Where's Summer?" to which she will try to pull the item off her head and then bust up when we say "There she is!" or "Peek-a-boo. I see you!"
-She's such a girl in that she already likes to "dress up" (usually with aprons--if I have one on, she wants hers on too!) and she knows how to carry a purse around too. (Train 'em young. Next lesson: credit cards!) :)  (Note the super cute apron she is wearing that my SIL, Rona, made the girls for Christmas along with one for me that says 'Lil' Deb's Cake Designs'. So awesome!)
-She is such a happy baby. She smiles and smiles and smiles.

-She is generally content to play on her own, however Dixie usually doesn't let it stay that way. Dixie is constantly wanting to pick her up or play with whatever she has and Summer will have none of it. She's developed a bit of a "fight for my rights" attitude when it comes to Dixie. She will squawk and squeal if Dixie is pestering her. On the flip side, she has also started dishing it back out to Dixie. Dixie will be quietly playing with something or watching a tv show and Summer will go attack her. Ah yes... they're going to be best friends someday... I just know it! :) But Summer loves to watch whatever Dixie is doing and study it out to try on her own, so Dixie frequently has a little shadow.

-Summer is a very good eater. She can easily eat as much as Dixie (and sometimes more... considering Dixie is a very light eater). She is not very picky about her food, which I'm very grateful for, but since she hasn't got all her teeth in yet, it's hard to know just how much "regular" food I can give her. So for now we're stuck with mostly soft fruits and veggies and breads, etc.
-But on that note, she's been getting more and more teeth as well. (This is one point in which she is completely different from Dixie. Dixie had pretty much all her teeth by the time she was one.) So teething has been an ongoing process. Gratefully she has never really gotten into biting to relieve her pain. :)
Anyway, I think that about sums it up for the past several months that I've missed. She is SUCH a joy. We absolutely love watching her explore and learn. She's a quick study and we know she will be doing amazing things with her life! We love you Summer!!!