Major accomplishment: Maggie is weaned. 100%, completely, comfortably weaned! She no longer sticks her little paws down the front of my shirt when I'm holding her, she doesn't throw a fit at the table when the last morsel of solid food has been eaten, and she goes to sleep after a little snack drama-free. She's drinking her milk straight in the mornings, and only a little bit of banana gets added in the afternoon and evening to sweeten the pot. Mostly she eats a portion of our own meal and smiles and interacts with us as the table. It's wonderful! Three cheers for having a toddler!
Along other lines, she's in the midst of a reaction to her measles-mumps-rubella vaccination at the end of November (it takes 10-14 days to show up if it's going to). She has very rosy cheeks and a rash on her sweet little bottom. The rash seems to be painful, since it's in a place she uses (you know, sitting, scooting, being held with an arm under your bum) and because diapers are gross places that get wet and smooshed and etc. We've tried to keep her aired out for as long as possible during the day (only one accident on the hard wood floor so far**) and keep smearing the zinc oxide all over her tush. It certainly looks better now than it did the first day it popped up, but I think she's still bothered a bit. Poor girl, but better than getting the measles I guess. We also think she's getting a tooth. Bill says he spotted a little ridge on the bottom, so that's probably adding to her testiness. We're trying to keep the excitement and cuddle levels way up. It's nice it's holiday time and we can go for walks to say "ooooo" for all the pretty lights -- very distracting until we get too cold to stay out. As always, this, too, shall pass.
**Yes, as alluded to in the comments section, there was An Incident this morning. It involved the false sense of security after a dirty diaper, leaving naked Maggie alone long enough to draw a bath, curious fingers and a new "toy," two interested dogs, three shocked adults, and a large load of laundry. Oops.
