Yes, Darcy is a wonder-child. Or else, she's progressing appropriately for her age. One or the other. You can decide.
With help over rough or slippery surfaces, Darcy is now pretty much mobile. She walks solo on carpet and grass and other fall-friendly surfaces, but still holds hands for gravel and roads. She likes to walk around our housing/maintenance compound every day, holding court for anyone who happens to be around. We've discovered hidden treasures on our walks; a heavy oak-framed mirror, an old enameled metal Western Union sign, a rock. All are equal in Darcy's eyes, but not mine! Well, actually the mirror was probably a highlight. I'd show you how much she loves mirrors in a cute series of photos we took a week ago, but they're on Michael's computer, so I'll have to do that another day. Just take my word for it: Darcy + bunny-flavored bathrobe + double mirror = ridiculously cute.
Despite being told by our pediatrician in Anchorage that the six months between one year and eighteen months of age is all about physical development and we shouldn't expect lots of new vocabulary, we have had a few weeks of, you guessed it...lots of new vocabulary. I have to make a list for her 15-month checkup next week, so you can all be the guinea pigs for it. She makes a few animals sounds: quack (her second word and favorite sound), moo, and baaa. She has words for her favorite foods: cheese, cracker, banana (see how we're not imposing our food dislikes on our child?), sauce (for applesauce), and water. She can name objects (in real life and in pictures, for the most part): fish, moon, duck, shoe, sock, teddy, yak, hat, and chair. She can express preferences in activity: up, walk, read, outside, and weasel. And she's getting the social niceties down as well: hi, bye-bye, daddy, and (finally, in the last week or so!) mama.
Some of these words are used to ask for (ok, demand) certain songs she likes to hear or see (on YouTube).
And finally, she sleeps. She sleeps through the night, usually about 11 or even 12 hours with almost no help from us. Every few nights she wants a little tummy-rub for a minute once or twice in the night, but that's it. And I think we've finally resolved the up-in-the-air nap schedule that came with sleeping through the night. She seems to have settled on one long nap in the middle of the day, which works well for me.
Her biggest obstacles are a mean mama who doesn't let her put pebbles in her mouth and those darn teeth that keep shoving their way into her mouth. She has, I think, ten teeth now, but it might be eleven, 'cause she was definitely working on something in there today. She likes vegetables and fruits and all things nice, and she says hi to everyone and everything she sees.
Now I dare you not to be impressed!
Coming into Baker on Interstate 15 now means passing through corridors of yellow flowers. What are they? Various species of sunflower and daisy relatives, mostly. But off the highway, there are more colors...
Lots of purples and whites abound in and around Mojave National Preserve. We had abundant rains over the winter, continuing into this spring, and the desert is coming to life. This is just one of many places with fields of interspersed hairy sand verbena (the lavender), dune evening primrose (the large white), and brown-eyed primrose.
The dune evening primrose merits a picture all by itself. This photo was taken just outside the Preserve boundaries.
I really love all the small flowers that are appearing. These brilliant purple ones are called, appropriately enough, purple mat. I don't know what the small succulents are. They don't appear in our flower guide; we have a list of almost a dozen now that aren't, so it's time to look for a better guide! The flowers on the purple mat are a little smaller than a dime.
These beauties are lilac sunbonnets. They are tiny, spiny, and low to the ground. They're not all that easy to spot, but it's hard to turn away once you've found them. I'll share more flower photos over the next month or so. I'm hoping that the Joshua tree bloom will be spectacular once it starts. Maybe even more than that, though, I'm excited for the cactus blossoms if and when they arrive.
