Countdown to One!

It's been awhile since I posted an update on where Evelyn is at in the major developmental areas and with her turning one on Wednesday, I figured I had better catch up!

First she is definitely what we call mobile : ) She crawls all over the place and is getting faster and faster. She can pull herself up and takes steps holding my hands, but does not yet cruise on furniture. She can balance on her own for just a few seconds and is gaining confidence with that every day. She is far more distracting in my dance classes now! She crawls up to the girls when they are warming up and is becoming a nusiance! We break for the summer at the end of May, so if she just holds off on walking til then I'll be okay. If not then I am in for a lot of work!

She crawled late and I wouldn't be surprised if she walked late (average is 13/14 months). So I have to be all the more proud of her verbal skills. Warning, skip next section if you want to avoid classic mommy bragging ; ) I had to start writing down all her words because about two weeks ago I realized she was saying new ones faster than I could keep track! She is up to more than 20 now and Bard thinks she has also said a few two word phrases, "All done" and "What's that?" I'm not convinced, but who knows? Many of the words (light, yuck, kitty, go, and more) she says very clearly and there is definitely no mistaking them. Some you have to know what she is saying, "Co" is cold and she says it everytime we go outside because apparently spring has not hit the Northwest yet, as evidenced by more snow last Saturday! All in all I am so proud of her. The average 1 year old says maybe one or two words besides mama and dada so she is quite the genius baby! Oddly enough the one word I haven't been able to get her to say is please. Uh oh. ; )

She is eating really well. She is now completely off bottles and nursing and drinks her milk from a sippy cup like the big girl she is : ( She has started eating with a spoon (see video posted on facebook for just what a disaster this is) although I have to admit when I'm in a hurry I just feed her, which is bad, I know, but seriously, I am afraid she inherited her father's table manners! For the most part she has not become a picky eater, yet, but has more likes and dislikes than she used to.

I am not sure what she weighs or how long she is, we go in for her 12 month on Thursday, so I'll find out then. However, she has pretty much grown out of all her nine month clothes and is wearing mostly 12 month. They are a bit big on her, so she has room for growth. That tells me she is probably right in the middle range. We are ready to put her in her real carseat, instead of the infant one, as soon as I have her weighed to make sure she is over the 22 pounds she is supposed to be to "graduate"

Overall she is pretty healthy although she had a fever over the weekend, her first one : ( She had a diaper rash last week two, which was another first. I think they were both due to the fact that she has her second top tooth coming in and the two on either side are really visible too. Extra saliva quickly led to a runny nose and now she has a cough, which is pretty much her first on that too. Poor kid! The temp was low (101.3) and the cough is not serious, so I'm not worried. Her ear infection at 6 months is still the only time we've been to the Dr and I would like to keep it that way!

She still sleep really well and has never really backslid from that. I put her down in her crib and she goes to sleep just fine on her own. She does about 12 hours at night and then takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. Although sometimes she gets up too early for me-I really need to start the day with Matt Lauer and a cup of coffee, she always wakes up in a good mood, so I guess I shouldn't complain!

Her favorite thing to do is still look at books, and now she is pointing at everything and either saying the real word for it or making up her own in some jibberish. She loves to say moo or whoo after I do when we look at cows and owls. What is it with kids and animal sounds?! She also loves putting abjects in something and taking them out, which is a common developmental milestone for this age. And just in the last few weeks has been able to make small towers, of 2-3 blocks, on her own and knock them down, which delights her to no end!

No separation anxiety yet either. Just last week we were at a friend's party and a total stranger held her for quite a wile and she didn't mind at all. She also hasn't fussed when I or Bard or my parents have dropped her off in Baby Garden at church. Knock on wood!

She does now get fussy if she can't get what she wants. Actually, I wouldn't call it fussy so much as downright mad! This mostly applies to my laptop and cell phone and has a particularly lovely yell that she gives off when I move them away. Let the battle begin!

Okay, last thing! She loves playing games like peek a boo and "How big is Evelyn?"-to which she responds by throwing up her arms! She loves being thrown up in the air and turned upside down.

Well, that's about all I can think of for where she is at on her first birthday. If you made it this far you must be a grandparent or just honestly think my daughter is absolutely adorable. Thanks!