Layla the Menace

Layla is walking! She has been for about a week now, getting better at it each day. She can now walk very well. She does fall a lot, but gets right back up and continues walking. I've been remiss in not posting this big news earlier, but I was hoping to have a video to go along with the news. No video yet, at least not that I've figured out how to get onto my computer.

It's funny to see her walking around my house, I can only imagine what my poor kitties think. They can't stand her. She loves them and chases them all over the house. They see her coming and run. I see their point, since the few times she did get up close to them, she would hit them repeatedly in her excitement and ignorance of how to treat animals. I think she thinks they are little furry robot toys, but cooler than any of her other toys. Any time she sees them, she points and says what I think is "kitty cat." Since there are three of them in my house, this happens frequently. She also loves Mishi, my poor geriatric dog. When I would put her in her walker, she thought it was great to ram Mishi with it bumper-car style, which usually resulted in Mishi falling down and Layla laughing hysterically. It was both pathetic and funny. I have since moved the walker upstairs so she can no longer inflict this particular torture on Mishi. She still has other tricks though, like kicking her when she's in her booster seat, or shoving her face when she comes up to her. I'm trying to teach her how to be nice to animals and pet them gently. Just like in her favorite book "Pat the Bunny" which she knows by name and eagerly awaits reading each night. I think she's slowly learning to be kind to them... tonight Mishi's back legs went out on her as they often do. Layla saw Mishi's predicament before I did, and indicated to me to go help Mishi. (Her indication was some arm/hand gesture with a syllable that I somehow knew meant that something required action. I can totally understand her somehow, but am trying to teach her to say things like "milk" instead of pointing at her drink and yelling what could very well be Amharic obscenities for me to hand it to her.)

So yes, little Layla is walking. I can't believe the progress she's made in under two months at home. She now walks, eats all adult food (she loves fruit, zucchini, and hummus, to name a few things), can even feed herself a little, understands a lot of English and speaks some words regularly (kitty cat, doggie, butt [don't ask where she learned that one], and hi, as well as many imitations of things I say. She also says baby a lot now, especially when she is mad at something. I don't know why. Lately she's been pretty bad with testing me, and it's usually when I am trying to do some despicable thing to her, like change her diaper, button up her sleeper, or put on her shoes. (I know, how dare I?!) She'll be wiggling and yelling at me, and whining "baby, baby" over and over. Maybe she's trying to say that she's just a baby and I should take it easy on her! Today she actually lifted up my shirt and bit me on my stomach because she was so mad. I think I was putting her clothes on then, the mean mom that I am. She likes to hurt me by pinching and scratching, too. I certainly hope she gets over those bad behaviors before she goes to day care. On the bright side, her crying and grabbing my legs when I'm not holding her has gotten way better. I've been working on it by walking away from her every time she does it and never giving in (advice from wise Aunt Mickey). She also tolerates me showering and getting ready now (thanks to some advice from wise Aunt Sue).

But as bad as she can be, she's also incredibly sweet and loving.

Overall, lots of progress, but still some struggles.

On another note, people still comment on her beauty everywhere we go. One night at the playground, a young guy walked by us and said "She's cute, man." At the grocery store the other night, the guy checking us out said "She has the cutest smile every time she comes in here." A man at Red Lobster saw her and exclaimed, "She's beautiful!"

I agree.