I also realize that I never took a 1 year photo of her on the carpet. I really am the worst. I guess I can do it soon and we'll pretend it was on the 5th. One mistake in a year, I'll take it. (HAA)
First things first -- the baby update. (Or do we call her a toddler now? NO. Even though she is 99% just walking everywhere, still a BABY.)
1-year-appointment/stats:
Weight: 22 pounds, 6 ounces
Height: 29.5 inches
In 75% percentile for both. A gain of 10.5 inches in 1 year. A gain of 15 pounds!
Doing really well. Says a lot of words (hi, dada, mama, pop pop, up please, woof, meow, ow, uh oh, NO, baby, and sometimes we can get her to say 'ho ho ho') The doctor says she is at a 15-month level for talking. Like I said, she is getting better and better at walking and wants to do that more than crawling. If she falls, she gets right back up and tries again. She looks sort of like a little old lady with this weird wide-leg stance. Her giggle is the most amazing sound on Earth I think, and I told her last night she must keep it until she is old and gray. It's my mission now to get it on tape as much as I can because I never want to forget it!
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| playtime in the playpen |
Still wearing size 3 diapers, although sometimes it feels like we are having trouble getting them across her butt. Can wear both 12 month and 18 month clothes. Eats everything in sight. Very opinionated though and will let you know if she hates her meals. Started drinking whole milk after the last visit. Slowly weaning off the formula - mixing in half milk and will be cutting back more and more until we're off it completely. In some weird, alternate universe I am still nursing a 1-year-old first thing in the morning for a few minutes. I think at this point it is simply a habit and we'll have to break it very soon. It's just so damn EASY. I need a mini fridge to keep milk next to the bed. OR, I need a baby who doesn't feel that getting up at 5:45 or 6am is acceptable. Really, that is the cause of all the issues.
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| Just had to include for this adorable chub roll hanging over her pants |
We are loving daycare still. Miss Sandy is great. She loves her friends there. I'm so happy after this long year of trying situations, we found the place for us. AND she said her daughter will babysit for us too so we can get back to the movies or out to dinner occasionally. Amazing! Thank GOD for Miss Sandy.
So let's see what I can do to catch up now that I have a little, tiny bit of free time.... (p.s. this blog post was started Friday morning, worked on Monday morning and finished Monday night. jeez)
Anna's first birthday was very nice. Doug & I took off on her actual birthday in order to start a "tradition" of making her day special - we'll take off every year and do something fun of her choosing. This year we decided what she'd really like to do is go get bloodwork taken. Every one-yr-old's fantasy day, right? Well, in our defense - it had to be done by her 1-year appointment on the 10th. I knew I needed backup, I can do most things with Anna alone, but holding her down for bloodwork was not going to be one of them. I don't even like going myself, much less holding down my baby who has no idea what's going on & this needle is going where and doing WHAT?! So thankfully that day we both had off & I decided bloodwork was our first order of business.
She made out just fine. Cried a bit, was mostly mad about being held down. Got over it quickly. (I came armed with a cookie for recovery. I win.) We headed out and went to the diner for blueberry pancakes. (See, birthday is looking up!) The pancakes were a hit. We came home, she went down for a good almost 2 hour nap (had to recover from the morning) and Doug and I did our decorating for Christmas. Lights outside, all the little decor inside.
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| At the diner for blueberry pancakes after the bloodwork |
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| testing out our new hat from Noreen |
We decided we'd try to go to the mall to see SANTA! YAY SANTA. Oh wow. Well, I have to say - I'll cut to the chase. We dressed her in her Christmas dress, got to the front of the line and the kid was like VELCRO. Would not let go of me. Bawling. Miserable. Terrified. Not even sure how it happened. We couldn't even get a semi-decent picture of her and had to give up. Honestly, meeting Santa for the first time was worse than the bloodwork. How is that possible! So... no Santa picture this year. We'll try again next year and hope for the best!
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| at the mall, before Santa. See she's slyly giving me the middle finger. It's like she knew! |
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| Doug and I drank the birthday champagne given to us last year when she was born. We said we'd drink it when she started sleeping through the night consistently OR turned one. HA. |
So all in all, the actual birthday was both a hit and a miss. It will surely be a good story to tell her one day when she's old enough to get it!
Then last weekend we had her 1-year photos taken and unfortunately that whole day was a disaster too. She was coming down with a cold, woke up early, needed a nap, the whole day got switched around due to scheduling issues with another party (oh the life of a socialite). So basically we tried for a little over an hour to get some good shots and now we pray for the best! As soon as we gave up, she fell asleep immediately in the car for over an hour and woke up (still crying) but finally in a better mood. We went to the Yacht Club party, played with some kids, had a cookie, "met" Santa again (this time no real tears and even a little giggle when they talked... safely from my lap), got our present (a new drum with little drumsticks) and got the hell outta dodge. We knew we were testing her that day and STILL had to get a Christmas tree, so time was running out. We picked the first tree we looked at & were back home in less than 10 minutes. FA LA LA LA LA.
The tree is the most perfect skinny specimen ever. I love it.
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| Our little doll, about to get a cold at the Yacht Club Christmas party |
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| Having a mini meltdown with Santa |
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| home and playing with her drum, a gift from Santa |
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| our adorable skinny tree! |
Then.... the cold hit.. I knew it was coming. Everyone had it at daycare. It was only a matter of time. The sleep setbacks started first. (Always fun). Then the boogies. Then the bad attitude. Then more boogies. LOTS of extra vitamins for me and Doug. Thankfully Miss Sandy will still take her with a cold (especially since everyone else is sick) and she even wipes noses and gives extra snuggles. She really is the BEST. We've survived the week and thankfully the sleeping issues eased up a bit as the week progressed.
Friday we got to celebrate the season in NYC for Doug's work Holiday "Party"(really just drinks and dinner on the company ;) We decided since we'd be using an overnight babysitting night with my parents, that why deal with the transportation, worry, clock-watching etc. on getting back home and just get a hotel for the night with Marriott points! So we did and it was very close to Doug's office where we started out the night. We went to dinner, went "bar hopping" and then met up with friends while we were out. It was a really great night! (I love getting dressed up for a reason :) I couldn't believe that I was able to last as long as I did! And we got to sleep in until 9:30 on Saturday. So unusual and perfect! (Thanks AS ALWAYS Gram and Pop. You guys are the best.)
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| Doug & I at the dinner |
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| Mom & Dad are OUT! High-fives! |
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| 2011, Last year on the left. Tiny Santa Helper. 2012, This year on the right. A cookie monster in the making. |
This morning while watching the news about the Sandy Hook school, I was crying as they were talking about one sweet little girl who was killed. I was hugging and kissing Anna and she looked at the TV, pointed and said "BABY" and that just sums it all right up. They were just babies and it broke my heart. Being sure to hug mine a bit tighter today and every day.
So that's about it over here. Work is finally slowing down and hopefully will stay that way through the New Year. I have SO much to catch up on and need all the time I can get. Have some more Christmas shopping to do - not much, but some little finishing touches. I'd say I am 99% done! GO ME!
I'll try to be back sooner rather than later, but you never know what life will throw your way!
