1 Year

Height: 30 3/4 in (75-90%ile)
Weight: 24 lbs, 3 oz (90%ile)
HC: 45 cm (cm? really?) 50%ile

My sweet Rosebud,

I think this has been my favorite month, in terms of development. In terms of age and turning one and all the emotion that accompanies it--I'm not such a huge fan. You've certainly taken more steps toward toddlerhood and away from babyhood. You're even starting to lose a bit of your...roundedness...and are visibly lengthening. Not to worry; there are still plenty of thighs to go around. :)

Some of this month's favorite things:

(Photo credit: Brian J. Markham)

- As if by magic, you learned the hand motions for "Twinkle, Twinkle," and surprised me by doing them on your changing table one morning. Now you start blinking your fingers whenever you want me to sing the song. So sweet.

- You're a super crawler now, one month later. You spend very little time playing with toys, and quite a bit of time dumping out baskets and crawling aimlessly from one room to another. But you REALLY put on speed when you see someone has left the gate to Avery's pen open. Jackpot! Dog food! Water dish! (Naughty baby.)

- At Grandma's one morning, you learned how to crawl up the (soft, carpeted) stairs. At home, you only ever seem to manage one (hard, wooden) stair--which is just fine with me. But the baby gates are in full swing anyway.

- On your birthday you gave yourself two gifts. 1) A top tooth! 2) The ability to pull yourself up. I had been telling our two visitors that day that I couldn't believe that, at one year, you still weren't pulling yourself up. Not two minutes later, you did it. Show off. You spent the next four days ignoring your new skill, until I mentioned to your pediatrician that you had done it, but only about three times. As soon as we returned home, BAM. It was like someone lit a fire under your squishy tush; you began pulling up on EVERYTHING.

- You get SO EXCITED when we head to the basement to play. Screeching at a pitch only dogs can hear. I love it!

- You will often repeat animal noises that we demonstrate. At the moment: doggie, horse, tiger and elephant--my favorite.

- You have the most beautiful light blonde hair that is starting to curl in the back (SQUEE!!!). I love it. I've even started to sneak barrettes and teeny tiny pony bands into it, but it's tough to keep you from pulling them out.

- This month you started to cuddle at bed time a whole bunch. You plop your sweet head on my shoulder (on top of Owley the lovey) and sometimes even stroke my arm while we rock and sing ("Twinkle," "Lady," "Stay Awake," "Raisins and Almonds," Hush, Little Baby").

- You give a hug by ramming your head into the nearest chest. It's very sweet, if a tiny bit painful. And you're working so hard on the kissing noise. Such concentration involved! But you've got the open-mouth fish face working really well.

- You've discovered the paci game: popping it into my mouth and taking it out. Over and over and over.

- You say "yes!" Especially when asked if you want blueberries or grapes--your two favorites.

(Side note: Dr. E says to go ahead and give you peanut butter. The times, they are a changin'. Also, he suggested cutting out bottles completely--you had still been taking 12 oz of formula per day--and immediately switching to milk in a cup. You're not a fan of the milk. At all.)
(Sleep related, for reference: you still take two naps a day. One from 9:30-11:00 and another from 2:00-4:00. Bed time is around 7:00.)


This will be the last monthly update, until 18 months. I have so enjoyed writing them, as I know you'll enjoy reading them when you're older. I love you, Little Bit (borrowed from Papa).

Kisses,
Mom

(Too tired to proofread. Forgive.)

Cumulative word list:
doggie
uh oh
dada
bye bye
yes/yup