The Lovely Years: Jillian: {Twelve Months}

Jillian -

You are 12 months old today. This means you are a whole year old! I cannot believe that I now have to refer to your age in years instead of months. Your 12 month well check-up is tomorrow so I will post your official stats then. If we had to guess, you are 18 lbs 4 oz and 28-1/2 inches long. UPDATE: You are 18 lbs 9 oz, and 28-1/4 inches long. This means, you gained 12 lbs 3 oz, and 8-1/4 inches since birth :)

You wear a few 9 Month and 6-12 Month onesies, but you are in mostly in 12 Month clothes. You wear size 1 shoes, (if I can get you to wear them), and size 3 diapers.

Eating has really improved! First of all, you are not really a picky eater at all! You tried a few new foods and liked all of them. The foods you tried are: turkey hot dogs, dill pickles, red cabbage, animal crackers, sliced tomatoes, plain oatmeal, pancakes (made with formula and no egg), strawberry cake with Cool Whip vanilla frosting, strawberries, chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting, scrambled eggs, crescent rolls, oranges, and baby mum mums. With permission from your doctor, we started whole milk a few days ago because we were out of formula powder. You don't mind the taste, but you don't like it cold. You have 3 full meals, two(ish) snacks, and a bottle before bed. You drink from a sippy cup for your main meals. The bottle before bed may be the hardest to get you to stop taking, but I have faith in you :)

You have 5 teeth now! Your left top front tooth is still just about out. It'll be out before you know it.

Walking is definitely on your mind. Crawling is your main way of getting around, but you are also quite the cruiser. Standing up and sitting down are easy for you. You have taken a few tumbles, but nothing serious. There is a tendency to be dramatic about the fall, but I don't mind holding you until you feel better. Plus, toys are always a welcome distraction ;) We hold your hips to help you walk around. Your walking toy isn't being used a lot yet, but I'm sure that's coming. Sometimes it's hard to practice standing and walking because you just want to dance! I love watching you dance whether there's music or not. You are such a hoot!

Sleep is still good. You take two naps: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Naps range from 1 to 2 hours. You'll give me a good 2-1/2 hour or more every so often, but they are few and far between. Once you go to sleep at night, you usually stay that way until 6:30 or so. You're getting about 8-1/2 to 9-1/2 hours a night consistently. If we try to get you to bed before you're ready, it's not pretty. As long as you're getting the rest you need, I don't care about specifics :)

You are so smart! You can point to items if we ask you where it is. The following words are in your vocabulary, (though most are still a little fuzzy): mama, dada, gaga {grandma}, uck {duck}, daw {dog}, uh {up or cup}, bah {ball or bottle}, ah {cat}, eow {meow}, eah {yeah}, no, buh {bye}, aah er {cracker}, ang oo {thank you}, and you at least attempt to make sounds similar to words we say to you. You can turn some of your toys on and off by yourself! Reading is a favorite pastime of yours. You read on your own, or let us read to you. You play alone well, but you also love playing with/watching older children play. You are fairly independent, but you let us know if you need some attention from us. Like your mama before you, you come to us and place your hand on us to let us know you need to be held. When that doesn't work, (or if we're too far away), you cry until we sweep you up and give you kisses. Your laughter is infectious! More and more things make you laugh, and you seem to be a little more ticklish lately. You can now let go of items as well as grabbing them. We are working on putting that to use by teaching you how to put your toys in your toybox. I'm sure this will last {HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *gasp for air* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA} You play peek-a-boo, and pat-a-cake on rare occasions. You LOVE music. Singing is not really on your radar, but you will dance and sway all night long if we let you! You do this excited squeal when you see something you like. It is the sweetest/cutest thing I've ever seen. This squeal happens when Yo Gabba Gabba comes on, you see an animal you like, you see the Cheerios box/animal cracker box, or when I open your closet to pick out your clothes for the day.

You went to your first funeral this month. Your great-grandpa Thompson died. Luckily, he went peacefully and the service was lovely. I think having your sweet face around really helped us all focus on the celebration of his life as well as looking forward to the future. You were very well behaved during the service and everyone was impressed!

Thanksgiving was the final holiday that was left to celebrate as a first for you. We had a great time, and you looking darling in your outfit :) We also celebrated your birthday this past weekend and it was a blast! You must have known it was all about you because you were in such a good mood despite taking two 10 minute naps. You really wanted to be in on the action in the living room, and be a good hostess. We were blessed to have some good friends come by. I hope you enjoy the photos and video we took of the party since you won't remember it a bit. I promise you that it will forever be etched in my mind and heart as long as I live. Tonight we will have gifts, a Skype date with all the grandparents, and a cupcake (of course!).

Jillian, my heart is just so full at this moment. You are smart, beautiful, independent, funny, sweet, and everything I could have every asked for. If I could dream up my perfect child, you would blow them out of the water. Love is not a strong enough word for what I feel for you. Most importantly, we've made it. We made it through the first year together, and in one piece. Sure we have some scrapes, scars, and bruises, but they all taught us something that made our little family stronger. I am thankful to be chosen as your mother and hope that I will one day make you feel the same way about me. I love you with my whole heart, baby girl. Here's to the next 12 months! {Plus many many many more :)}

A few outtakes: