14 months old!

My NiNi is 14 months old, as of Saturday the 28th! Hard to believe... She is such a joy, and I enjoy her so much! :-) Developmentally, she is catching up steadily. She is nearly ready to crawl, is starting to bear weight on her teeny feet, and sits up very well now. Her verbal skills are improving, she says about 10 words regularly, and another 5 or 6 sporadically. Her smile is 24 karat, and her laugh is infectious. She is so funny! Everything right now is "no", by shaking her head and smiling...from "are you hungry" to "are you mommy's girl" is answered by a "no" shake of her head... The 2's promise to be interesting!! heehee

I took her to daycare for the first time Friday, just to meet the kids and caregivers. She showed a lot of interest in the kiddos, loved the dog and cat, and smiled at the 3 caregivers. This next week, we will start spending time regularly there, and I'll begin pulling back as she adjusts. I really like the daycare provider, she has such a great way with the kids...positive reinforcement, manners, lots of hugs and support for the little ones. Even though I have a lot of anxiety about leaving her, and how she will adjust, I know she will be in good, safe hands when I have to return to work.

Today (Sunday), NiNi and I went to our first FCC event. FCC is Families with Children from China, and there is a fairly large community in northern CA. I met several people with their lovely children, and it was nice to visit with other families that look like ours. NiNi was delighted by all the asian faces; she definitely recognizes them and connects when we are out and about, so to have a circle of kiddos that look like her was fabulous! :-) There are a couple of big FCC/Chinese events coming up, which is exciting, and there is talk of a playgroup forming locally, to allow our little ones to connect with others who share their heritage. I am considering a mandarin preschool in a couple of years; it is 1/2 english and 1/2 mandarin. We'll see, but I spoke with a family who is enrolling their daughter this fall, so I'll see how it goes for them.