Linnea is 12 Months Old! 1 WHOLE Year!

Linnea,
Oh sweet girl. I do not know where the last 12 months have gone but I am SO glad you were here for them.  The saying "The days are long but the years are short" is so very true although most of the time I feel like are days are short as well :).  You are so much fun right now.  You continue to be super happy, easy going and you amaze us every day with new things that you can do.  We LOVE being your parents.  We feel so lucky and blessed that you are part of our team.  Thanks for being so awesome!

We've been asked already if we are planning on having more kids and the honest answer is we would love to but I know from experience it isn't always up to us or our timing ;).  We are both a little hesitant because we know the next baby has to be harder than you.  That freaks us out a bit but we will see what the future holds.  There is no way we will get an easier, happier baby that sleeps well and goes with the flow but can also follow a schedule with no problem.  I mean really we hit the baby jackpot!

Here is an example of how easy going you are: Your cousin Jocelyn wanted to go on a date with your dad.  So he picked her up one Saturday to hang out.  They went to the park, got donuts and then came back to our house to play and eat lunch.  We told Jocelyn we would take her to the pool.  By the time we got around to it it was 1:30 which is your nap time.  We couldn't go back on what we said so we took you to the pool during your nap time and you were just fine.  You didn't fuss, cry or even act tired.  We left at 3:45 and I thought you'd fall asleep in the car on the way home but you didn't end up falling asleep until after we put you in your crib.  You took a nap at 5 and then we woke you up around 5:45 so you wouldn't sleep too long before bedtime.  You are so great!

 Here is what you were up to this month!

We took 440 pictures over two days and this was the best we got.  Ugh! I think we are all glad the monthly box pics are over although they might show up again every once in a while in the future.

 We have lots of pictures like these!

Stats
At your 12 month appointment you weighed 17 lbs 9 oz which is in the 5% (a step up from the 3% at your 9 month appointment).  You were 28.5 inches long which was in the 25% (which dropped from your last appointment).  Your head circumference was 17.5 inches which is in the 50%.  You had to get 4 shots and it was rough!  You screamed when the doctor tried to look in your ears and throat so when they laid you down to give you shots you just started screaming.  After they were over and I could pick you up and you were good to go after a minute or two.

Eating
You finished your last pureed baby food this month and you officially eat table food for all your meals.  Such a big girl!  I do mix in pureed fruit with your oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast because flavored baby yogurt has a lot of sugar in it.

 You love green beans, black beans, toast, cheese, peanut butter and bananas. There really isn't much you won't eat.  You got over your aversion for squishy foods which is great.

We started introducing you to cow's milk this month.  We started about 2 weeks before your first birthday.  I felt like my supply was dropping and you weren't getting as much fluids as maybe you should be.  You never complained about the drop in the supply but I thought you should be getting more.  The switch kind of happened because we wanted to go on a date to celebrate our anniversary but in order to leave you I had to have milk for a bottle.  The frozen breast milk is bad, we think, and when I tried to add an extra pumping session it didn't work.  We ended up feeding you dinner, nursing you and putting you to bed at Jan's house and then going to dinner.  It worked fine but now that you can and will drink cow's milk I'm excited for the freedom that will bring.

I feed you breakfast (on top of the 4 nursing sessions each day) and your dad feeds you lunch and dinner.  You've started putting your hands in your hair during your meals times which is super frustrating.  We can't tell if you are trying to sign something to us or if you are just playing.  You know how to sign "more" but sometimes you sign it while you are eating something like black beans and you have a pile of black beans right in front of you.  Sometimes it seems like you think "more" means food.  So we need to work on that a little more.

Sleeping
You are sleeping like a champ.  You nap for an hour in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.  You go to bed around 7:30-8:30 depending on how early I started dinner :).  For naps and bedtime we give you your monkey paci and put you in your crib.  You usually just talk yourself to sleep.  You don't typically cry or fuss at all.  After naps and in the morning you will drop your monkey back in your crib after we pick you up.

I am always surprised how quickly you wake up after a nap.  If we need to be somewhere and I can't let you keep sleeping I will walk in to wake you up and sometimes you just pop right up and are ready to go.  Other times it might take you 30 seconds or so but then you are ready.  It takes me 30 minutes or so to wake up and even then I'm not really "ready" to go.  If I ask you to drop your monkey into your crib you will and then you will wave good bye to him.  If you are back in your room another time during the day and your monkey is within reach you will grab him out of your crib and start sucking on him.

Clothes
You are wearing 9 month and 12 months tops and onesies.  Your pants (if you wear long pants) are 12 months.  Your shorts range from 6 months to 12 months (with the elastic taken in).  There are a few dresses that I'd love for you wear but they are a little long and get in the way when you crawl.  You are in size 3 Huggies Little Movers diapers.  We switched to Little Movers because the Snug and Dry Ultras didn't stay on as well once you started crawling (several months ago).

You've slept in some footed pajamas at night and sometimes you sleep in a onesie or pajama top and pants without feet.

Playtime
You are great at playing by yourself.  You can entertain yourself, especially in the mornings, for a long time.  It is so fun just watching you play.  You like to read to yourself and now you will even read, aka babble, out loud while you look at books.  Your favorite book right now is Dear Zoo.  You love to open the flaps to see the animals.  It is the only book you cry/fuss over when I put it back.  You like playing with your two ball toys.  One of your favorite toys this month has been your swimmer friend (which is what we call him).  He came with your water table and you have been carrying him around the house for a week or two.  It is really cute.

You still play with your babies.  You like to give them to your dad so he can hug them.  If he doesn't take the baby you will turn his hand over and then shove the baby into his hand.  You are definitely able to get your point across.  If we ask you where your baby is you will go find one of them and bring him/her to us.

You like to play peek a boo/hide and seek around corners and behind curtains.

Our Days
Our days have been full of playing at home, play dates with Lydia and Everly, hanging out with Molly and her boys, going to a workout class, going to the pool, playing with your water table, running a few errands and just hanging out.  I do best if we have a few things on our schedule during the week but not too many things.  We've been hanging out with Lydia, Everly and their mamas about once a week and that has been super fun.

Your dad gives you baths about every other night.  Before your bath he takes off your diaper and you crawl around the bathroom naked.  It is adorable!  I usually come in and watch you because you are just too cute.  This month you started peeing right after your dad takes your diaper off.  The first time you did it it was just a little bit and it wasn't a big deal.  The second time you did it you peed a lot and then after we got that cleaned up your dad started yelling "She's pooping!" and you pooped on the floor.  Oh man, that was unexpected and not cool.  We were thankful you didn't poop in the tub because that would involve more clean up but let's try to keep your bodily fluids in your diaper.  Now that I'm writing this you've peed on the floor a handful of times and it might be turning into a regular thing which is not okay.  Last night your dad put you on the toilet for a few minutes after he took your diaper off just in case and you didn't pee but as soon as he took you off the toilet you peed all over the floor.  Ha! Stinker!

Activities and Outings
Your Aunt Annie and Cousins Andrew and Nathan along with your grandparents came up to visit for a few days.  We had a great time going to Deanna Rose and Fritz's.

Dinner with Uncle Bob!

You LOVE giving hugs!

 You opened the birthday gift from us which was a water table a little early as well so we could enjoy it throughout the whole summer.

You would take off the wrapping paper piece by piece and hand it to me.  It was so cute!

 We went to Deanna Rose Farmstead with your Grandparents, Cousins and Aunt Annie!

Your grandma, great-great Aunt and one of your grandma's friends came up for one night before they headed to a quilt retreat.

You opened a swing that your Grandma Debbie and Papa Larry gave you (a bit early) for your birthday.

We also met my former coworker Chris and his son Cole at Crown Center to hang out for a bit and go to Fritz's for lunch.

You finally met Angela this month.  Oh man, this girl prayed for you and for me longer than anyone else.  She was there through it all.  I could call her or email her about ANYTHING we were going through when we were trying to get pregnant and she would be there and somehow make me laugh even though most of the time I just wanted to cry or scream.  But now you are here and she got to meet you!

We met up with Kelli, Eli and Luke in Topeka this month for a quick play date!  

For the 4th of July we went to Chapman, KS to celebrate with Blake, Ashley, Addison, Gwen and Kevin.  We've been celebrating the 4th of July with Blake, Kevin and Jon since we were in high school.  We had a great time.

Ding dong!

 2 kids + 2 adults in one small playhouse.

Firsts and New Skills
You are standing on your own without holding on to anything for longer periods of time (about 5 seconds).  I think you could stand longer and you usually do if you have something in both hands and forget that you aren't holding onto anything that is stable.

You like smacking your lips together and you've been doing a funny biting thing with your jaw.  We can see your top teeth almost poking through so we think that must be related.

Your dad taught you how to give kisses.  The first few were VERY wet but you are getting better at them.  It is cute watching you kiss your dad!

We also celebrated the first Father's Day for your dad since you've been here.  I love watching you two interact!

Do you know what your dad wanted for Father's Day? To spend alone time with you.  That's right, time with you is what he wanted most.  I met Jan and her kids at the pool while you hung out with your dad.  I'm telling you, he is the best!

He also went on a date with Jocelyn this month.  She wanted to go on a date with him so he picked her up at 10 am, they went to the park to play, ate donuts then came back to our house to play, eat lunch and then we went to the pool together.  It was a lot o fun!

This month we also celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary.  I hope you find someone who is as good of a teammate as your dad.  He is fun and loves both of us so much.

You hit a big developmental milestone this month - block stacking!  I was reading a paper we got from parents as teachers and it said you should be able to start stacking blocks soon.  I was reading the paper to Jake and we both thought there was no way you could do that.  The next day I left to run some errands and you were hanging out with your dad.  He decided to see if he could teach you how to stack blocks.  He stacked blocks for you several times and then asked you to do it and you did!  We couldn't believe it!  You have an inner battle because you really like knocking towers down and now that you are building them you only let them get about 2-3 blocks high before you knock them over.

Warning - This video is long and I even edited it but man it is cute to see her go from knocking down Jake's tower to building her own in a matter of minutes.  I love listening to Jake encourage her.

The same paper I was reading about blocks said you should be able to follow one step directions like going to get something for us.  So we asked you "Where is your baby?" and you went to get him and brought him to us.  Well then smarty pants!  Way to prove us wrong, again.

You have started to mimic us and do things we haven't specifically taught you to do like put lotion on your hands.  One night you were playing in the bathroom while you dad was filling up the tub and you touched the top of the lotion pump and then rubbed your hands together.  You did this over and over again.  You didn't actually get any lotion out but man it was cute!  You also picked up your hair brush and brushed your hair.  You love it when we brush your teeth and you like to brush your own teeth.

First Birthday Party!
I'm hoping to do a quick blog post about your first birthday party but I'll put just a couple pictures here.  You had such a great time.  It was a LOT of prep work but the actual day of the party was really fun for me since I did so much ahead of time.  Both of your grandmas help set up and clean up the food so I could concentrate on hanging out with guests.

 I bought you a couple pairs of shoes and you seem to like to take them off.

 We went to Mi Ranchito for dinner to celebrate my birthday :).

On July 4th we spent some extra time reading and playing with you before bed.  We couldn't believe you would be one in the morning!

On your birthday we had your one year pictures taken.  You were starting to not feel that great and you weren't super smiley which was a bummer.  

Your dad took the afternoon off to spend time with both of his birthday girls :).  It turns out it is pretty fun sharing a birthday with you!

Remember
I want to remember reading and rereading Dear Zoo with you.  It is so fun to see you excited about a book.

I want to remember your hugs around my neck.  Sometimes you really squeeze hard.

I want to remember your scrunchy face.

I want to remember the feeling of you asleep in my arms.  We used to go into your room at night after you've been asleep for a few hours and pick you up to hold you for a bit before we went to bed.  We would do this about once a week.  Well about 3 weeks before your first birthday it started to turn into an almost daily thing.  I don't regret it at all.  I go to bed a little bit later but there is nothing like the feeling of you asleep on my chest and in my arms.  I wish I could go back in time and hold you as a newborn again.  I wish I could hold you then knowing what your personality is like now.

I still can't believe that I have a baby and that she is a cute, happy, healthy little girl and now that little girl is one.  I am thankful for you every day.  Thanks for making me a mama one year ago.  It has been the best year of my life!

There is a chance . . . a small chance that we are related!

Love you sweet girl!
Love,
Your Mama