Biting

Here are a few things I forgot to include in the 16 month update.

Amelia likes to walk backwards and Daddy says it looks like she's moonwalking.

The other day, I put some food on the porch for a stray kitty I saw limping through the yard. When I came back in I was welcomed by Amelia who was in the process of bringing me Daddy's shoes (which are big and heavy, making the sight of her with them even cuter). She knows that we are supposed to wear shoes when we go outside! She did this again this morning, but to Daddy when he was letting one of our kitties come back in from the cold.
She adores applause and will wait for applause after just one note on her tiger piano/xylophone. It's so cute, we can't help but indulge her, which results in an encore performance of course! And if we don't clap soon enough, she'll clap for herself.

Her dancing now consists of spinning in a circle - and it's amazing how many times she can go 'round before she plops on her butt or stops and kind of wobbles, looking like a little drunk.

But it's not all sweetness and light (as my friend Cathi would say), she is biting a lot now. At first it was kind of cute when she would go after Daddy's feet, as seen in this picture. But now she'll bite our knees when we're sitting or come hug my leg while I'm working in the kitchen and then sink her teeth into the back of my thigh. I don't know what to do to dissuade her from this horrible habit. I think it's related to teething (she is still drooling enough to drown small animals) and if she hasn't eaten recently, I usually offer her a cookie (and then slightly worry that it could be viewed as a reward). I've tried telling her no, which makes her laugh. I've tried relocating her, which doesn't always work as she quickly returns like a bee to honey. Yesterday I even tried gently flicking (splashing) a little water in her face (since I was at the sink) and firmly saying "no" after she bit my thigh, but she thought that was fun, backing up a little with her pseudo moonwalk and laughing. Hmmmm.

[pictures dated 1/25/07]