12 Month Review: Happy 1st Birthday

My baby is a year!!! I can't believe it has been a year since she officially joined our family and the world. People warn you that it goes fast but I had no idea! Libby has changed so much this year and frankly I couldn't imagine my world without her now. She definitely has a little personality. Over this month she's really improved with stranger anxiety. There were times where she couldn't be left with anyone she didn't know but now she seems comfortable with more people (especially if they are male!). Libby is still making her 'famous' looks that will stop you in your tracks. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing these looks, you probably will someday. =) They definitely tell you what she's thinking/feeling!

Libby started marathon teething last week. It isn't like these are her first teeth. She has eight already but you would think they were her first. The drool was unbelievable - like a waterfall! And the screaming. Oh, the screaming. It just broke my heart. On Friday I had to go pick her up from daycare because she wouldn't eat for them for the second straight day (I wasn't aware of the first until the end of the day). Basically, she won't take a bottle and will nibble at solid foods. So, we have taken this as our opportunity to stop giving her a bottle. She's been off the bottle a week now and does not seem to care! She will drink water from a sippy cup and we're working on getting her used to milk. It's going 'ok' but she just prefers to only drink water! There are worst things in the world for her to like. =) So that is one transition down into being a toddler. The other is table food. We're still really struggling with this. She really does not like or want table food. When she gets it, she does the normal thing of play with it...and sometimes sticks it in her mouth but then spits it back out. We have had really good luck with pancakes, waffles, biscuits, nilla wafers, cheerios, goldfish, etc - basically any kind of bread. =) I'm not giving up hope but she is definitely a picky eater!! Here are some other things to highlight from this month:
Weight: 32.9 lbs

• Vocab -- Libby can say Ball, Cat, Stop, No, Hello, Mama, Dadda, Book, Closed, Down, Up, Boom
• Favorites -- Claps hands, bouncing everywhere and anywhere!, loves to stand, Rubber Ducky Song, Elmo Song, Sesame Street (as long as it has puppets on the show), Bunnytown (TV show), new inflatable bath tub that she can drown Mommy when she splashes, going to the Zoo, her daddy's old cell phone
• Dislikes -- table food =)
• Feedings -- see above. =) We're working on transitioning her to table foods but right now she's pretty much on baby food + carbs/breads for breakfast/snacks. She's a very picky eater so we're really struggling to get her to try things. I welcome any advice!!
• Crawling -- Eh, I just don't think this is going to happen! She's still trying but still goes backwards. Libby's really good at getting her knees up though and can spin on her tummy like nobody's business!
• Sleeping through the night -- Ever since being sick last Friday she has been sleeping through the night. Well, she'll wake up to scream but then put herself back to sleep.
• Illnesses -- We went about 2 weeks between colds. She got sick last Friday and went all weekend with 100+ degree fevers. Monday found out she had an ear infection and is doing much better now!
• Teeth -- So far just 8 but she's working on at least 4-6 more teeth (including her molers). She cannot do just one thing at her time like her Mommy!
• Shoes -- Still 6.5W =)
• Naps -- We're down to one nap from 12:00-2:00pm daily. Sometimes they don't happen until after 2pm on the weekends if we are out and about but usually the nap is from 12:00-2:00.

Milestones: We've made a lot of progress on the milestones this month. She actually wanted to start walking and on 9.6, she started walking with our assistance. Since that time she has gotten a lot faster (especially if the cat is nearby!). I fully expect her to walk as soon as she is able to stand on her own. =) Libby also likes to play roll the ball with us now. She roll the ball to her and then she rolls it right back. Now, I will admit her favorite part of this is to kick or throw it back at us (maybe a future soccer or softball player??), but half of the time she will roll it back to us. And, as of last Friday (9.19), she pulled herself up for the first time and then the next day, she sat up by herself. It looks like she is all caught up now on the expectations! Her vocab didn't grow that much this past month but she does love to talk to you in jibberish. She tells you how it is too! As usual, here are the rest of her milestones. As usual, here is the "official milestone" review - although, this is the last ones I have from my "What to expect the first year" book =(: ... should be able to:

• walk holding on to furniture (cruise) - check! It makes me heart stop because she just started doing this but it is adorable. She's so proud!
  
• use a few gestures to get needs met - check! She'll look a certain direction and make her demands known.
  

... will probably be able to:

• play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye (most children accomplish these feats by 13 months) - check! Waving hello/good-bye is one of her favorite things. We say, "Wave hello to ..." and she'll do it.
  
• drink from a cup independently - check! We can only get her to drink water from a cup so far. Trying to get her to take milk from it is going to be a challenge.
  
• pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger (many babies do not accomplish this until nearly 15 months) - check!
  
• stand alone momentarily (many don't accomplish this until 13 months) - nope! We're getting closer but she still isn't sure of herself.
  
• say "dada" or "mama" discriminately (most will say at least one by 14 months) - check! She knows who is who. =)
  
• say one word other than "mama" or "dada" (many won't say their first words until 14 months or later) - check! We are keeping a tally of the words she can say (see above)
  

... may possible be able to:

• "play ball" (roll a ball back to you; many don't accomplish this feat until 16 months) - check! The first time she did that we were so happy we (all 3 of us) played ball/catch for about an hour.
  
• stand alone well (many don't reach this until 14 months) - nope!
  
• use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds like a foreign language; half of all babies don't start jargoning until after their first birthday, and many not until they are 15 months old) - check!
  
• walk well (three out of four babies don't walk well until 13.5 months, and many not until considerably later. Good crawlers may be slower to walk; when other development is normal, late walking is rarely a cause for concern) - nope!
  

... may even be able to:

• say three words or more other than "mama" or "dada" (a good half of all babies won't reach this stage until 13 months, and many not until 16 months) - check!
  
• respond to a one-step command without gestures ("Give that to me" - without hand out; most children won't reach this stage until after their first birthday, many not until after 16 months) - check! I ask Libby to put her hands up w/o gesturing when I put her in her high chair and she does it. It is a huge help!