The Janzens: Stella is 1 Year Old!

Dear Stella,
You are one and I can't even believe it. You seem like such a big girl now. You have strong opinions about things you would like to do or play with and you let us know about them. I am heading back to work this week so our parental leave is coming to an end. I am excited and sad but really looking forward to you spending lots of time with your dad while he gets to experience the joys of being a stay at home dad! Here is what you've been up to this month:

Stats
I weighed you at home this month and you weighed 8.61 kg (19 lbs). Before we went to the US I was worried because you had dropped a little in your weight but you made up for it while we were gone. You must have gone through a growth spurt because we couldn't refill your tray fast enough with food. I don't know how long you are but we will find out in a few weeks at your BVC appointment. (At 12.5 months old you weighed 8.56 kg or 18 lbs 14 oz - which means our scale at home must be off. You were in the 37th percentile for weight. You were 73.7 cm or 29 inches long which was in the 35th percentile. Your head was 45 cm which is in the 48th percentile.)

Eating
You are officially done breastfeeding. Your last session was on the morning of your first birthday.

Honestly, I was surprised we made it that long. You've never really nursed for comfort, you don't nurse to fall asleep and your 6 teeth (2 more popped in this month) had me a bit worried more than once. I always had 12 months in my head as the minimum end goal and we made it, barely. You now take 4 bottles of formula per day and you usually giggle at the sight of them.

During your growth spurt in the US we literally could not refill your tray fast enough. Your favorite foods include cheese and beans but you don't really have any foods you don't like other than chunky baby food. You are so offended when we feed you chunky food instead of letting you feed yourself.

Clean up crew.

Sleeping
You slept through the night and even slept in until 730 most mornings when we were in the US. That was SO incredible. Once we got back to Stockholm it took you 3 or 4 nights before you slept through the night. Those 3 or 4 nights were kind of rough. You wanted someone to hold you but you couldn't/wouldn't fall asleep in your dad's arms.

About 10 days before Linnea turned one I started going into her room at night, picking her up while she slept and rocked her for a while before laying her back down. Occasionally she'd wake up but it wouldn't be a big deal. After 3 days of jet lag and then 2 extra days of you sleeping normally I tried it with you. Big fail. You were awake from 11 pm to 12:45 pm and most of that time you were unhappy. I tried rocking with you for 45 minutes and you just couldn't get settled down.

So I gave you some books and walked out. You looked at them for a few minutes and eventually fell asleep. That was the last time I tried that.

You are still taking two naps per day. The morning can be anytime between 9-10:30 usually for about an hour or so. The second one is usually between 12:30/12:45-3:00/3:15 pm.

Clothes
You are wearing size 12 month and 18 month tops and pajamas. Most of your pants are size 12 months. You now have a few matching pajama sets with Linnea and it is so cute seeing you girls match.

Playtime
You love reading books but sometimes get frustrated when we don't read fast enough for you. Your favorite books are lift the flap books and thankfully we have a few with chunkier flaps so you can read them without help.

Downward Dog

We have a few balls that you have been loving as well as your push toy.

You got a purple dog for your birthday and you love chewing on his nose!

You LOVE dogs. After spending a few days with my brother's dogs over Christmas you now know what a dog is and love watching dogs out the window or finding them when we are walking around outside. Dog was your first word other than mama, dada, and uh oh. Shortly after figuring out dog you mastered ball.

You love putting these exercise bands around your neck.

We got you a fun school bus for your birthday which has pop up passengers. You also got a baby doll from Grandma Debbie and Papa Larry although Linnea seems to be quite attached to it.

You like playing in our pantry when I let you.

Our Days
Our parental leave days are coming to an end. Overall I have really enjoyed them but these last few weeks have been dragging along. The week leading up to your first birthday Linnea got the stomach bug. About a week later you also got the stomach bug. If I wasn't ready to go back to work before the sickness I definitely was after it ;).

Your dad is starting his parental leave in the middle of February. I am pumped to have him stay home with you and experience what it is like to be a full-time stay at home dad.

Activities and Outings
We finished up our time in the US with me spending two nights away from you and Linnea. That mom vacation was the best decision I've made in a long time. It was hard being away from you but you were in good hands with your dad and your grandparents. And once I got back I went on a date with your dad and we actually had things to talk about other than you and Linnea. It was magical!

Cookie bake with one of my very best friends. THE BEST!

Kelli gave me strict instructions that this was my mom vacation. I was to sleep in, go shopping by myself, take a nap, basically do whatever I wanted without worrying about anything or anyone else. We stayed up too late talking and I had to leave earlier than I wanted because of bad weather but I had THE best time getting away with her and her sweet family. We ended the mom vacation with spa pedicures.

I've realized that the combination of staying home with you and liking to be in control of things that I am the default parent with you. I was the default parent with Linnea too until I went back to work. Your dad is more than willing to help but I usually feel like I have to tell him what to do because he doesn't do it enough on his own to know the routine by heart. This was glaringly obvious in the US. Grandparents were willing to help but their daily routine doesn't include taking care of a 12-month-old. I can't fault them for that but it was frustrating feeling like I had to remind everyone that Stella needed a bottle, diaper change, nap or food at certain times. It was a battle of teaching others how to take care of you vs just doing it myself because that seemed like less work. Eventually, I had to give up control and ask others to do it. I was burned out and frustrated but once I gave up the control by writing out your schedule and leaving for 2 days :), I was in a much better place.

Exploration Place with Jocelyn and Connor

Date afternoon! Pizza and some shopping!

We aren't looking at the camera but my cousin Danielle had a baby about 6 weeks younger than Stella. It has been so fun talking all things baby with her!

Linnea's first time bowling was a hit! And I scored a 172 which is my highest score ever! The guy next to us (next to the kids' lane) almost bowled a perfect game. He got a 9 on the 3rd ball in the 10th frame. I talked to him and he has bowled 6 perfect games before. Pretty neat!

Linnea got her 2nd haircut ever.

I spent my childhood in that yellow car!

Throwing balls at Grandma

Loved spending time with this girl! She has known me for most of my life and still loves me anyway ;). Love you Em!

First time in a shopping cart!

We stayed with Jan and Mike for 4 nights while we were in KC. Linnea had a great time playing with Jan's kids and I had a blast chatting in the evenings with Jan. So thankful for friends who let us stay with them.

Living in Stockholm helped me be friends with these girls' moms. Once we moved back to the US I had to find some stay at home mom friends that I could hang out with during the day. I noticed two moms at rhyme time a couple of weeks in a row with little girls about the same age as Linnea. So I went out on a limb and asked them on a date . . . a playdate that is. Making friends as an adult feels a lot like dating and it can be weird but I'm thankful that we can still keep in touch even if we are thousands of miles away.

We stayed with Jon and Liz for a couple of nights and had an awesome time. Plus we got in several game nights!

We went to the Garmin Winter Event, aka the Garmin Prom. It was the 30th Anniversary this year so it was pretty over the top but it was a kid-free night that was completely paid for so we were all in!

You know how sometimes there are friendships that you wish you had more of in your life? I wish I could have more of Bethany in my life. I'm working on convincing her to come visit us in Stockholm!

I needed to read this quote. So good!

The first time you went swimming and I convinced them to turn on the big slide!

Amy, Katie and Kathy drove up from Oklahoma to see us while we were back. It was so much fun catching up with them. I definitely appreciated all of the driving time that went into one day just for a few hours with us.

Playing Dog and Bone

We also celebrated Christmas with my side of the family. We had a great time all together!

Towels that Grandma made for all of the grandkids.

Grandma and Papa with all the grandkids!

We were excited because this time we weren't flying through Chicago on our way back to Stockholm which was good because they usually have bad weather and they did this time around. The only hiccup was the plane we were taking from KC to Newark was coming from Chicago and it was delayed. We ended up missing our connection and getting rerouted through Oslo but that didn't happen either because of a few more hiccups.

We ended up staying in Pittsburg after some delays and drones closed down the Newark Airport. The long flight was definitely your worst flight. You took a 'nap' when we were hoping you'd just go to sleep early but then you were awake and cranky for 2+ hours. Eventually, you slept but not in your bassinet. I'm sad that bassinet traveling is officially over for you. It took you 4 days to get over jetlag on the way back. I felt like you were making backward progress the first three days so I was thrilled when you finally slept through the night again!

Thankfully a very helpful gate agent found a hotel for us with a pack n play (after calling 5 hotels) and we all got a great night of sleep before trying again the next morning.

Linnea was so excited to see Alix. I think she will have to travel with us next time.

We celebrated your first birthday on your actual birthday. It was so fun to have our friends over to celebrate you. It was the most number of people we've had in our apartment but it was a great time.

Linnea was telling me what she bought Stella for her birthday.

Definitely a fan of the chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter 'frosting'.

Lots of helpers.

Dog!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Firsts and New Skills
You stood up in the middle of the room without pulling up on something this month but to my knowledge, you've only done it once. I kind of assumed you'd be walking by your first birthday since you've had strong gross motor skills for a while now but you aren't. You better believe I'm putting you through walking boot camp before you stay home with your dad full time. He has been instructed to not let you walk while I'm at work . . . we shall see how that goes ;).

You are able to easily pull up on just about anything. I've even seen you hike your knee up to climb up a chair and a step stool.

You clearly say dog whenever you see one and you have a word for cheese that clearly communicates your wishes.

You love pointing at things. Right now it seems like it is just general pointing but pretty soon I can see you telling us things by pointing and getting frustrated if we don't know what you are pointing at.

I taught you how to give me a hug this month and you better believe we practice that often. You used to sign all done but now you just throw your food on the floor.

Sister Moments
I feel like this month we crossed over into a new phase. You are very aware and opinionated about what toy/activity/food you would like to have. You will definitely let your sister know if you do not appreciate her taking something away from you. Overall our strategy is that if someone is actively playing with something then you have to wait until they are done. Linnea cannot just come up and swap out one toy for another so she can have what you have.

Linnea has gotten pretty used to you pulling her hair but I'm going to guess that she will be less understanding as the days go on.

Linnea figured out the travel stroller could actually be a double stroller.

Linnea did a great job reading to you recently to distract you while your dad mopped the floor. It was really cute to watch.

I wore this dress around 6 months old and we had your sister's picture taken in it when she was 6 months old. You were almost a year old in this dress but it is fun to see a side by side comparison. Sometimes I think you look like Linnea but I don't really see it here.

Linnea got to feed Stella some breakfast.

Linnea New Skills
I feel like Linnea is in a pretty sweet spot right now. I hesitate to even write about it for fear of jinxing it or making others feel bad that their kids aren't in a sweet spot but I want to remember this stage because I don't know when it will end. Linnea has always been easy going. She gets that from her dad. Does she throw fits or have bad days, of course. But in general, she is easy. She was a great baby. Happy, slept well, content. Usually, she is very helpful, kind to Stella and loves to be funny. She really hasn't shown much or any jealousy with Stella but she has taken a strong liking to Stella's baby doll that she got for her 1st birthday.

Linnea loves to be silly which means wrestle around. She has to tell Jake "I'm feeling silly" so he knows to take his glasses off.

She is super fast on her scooter and just recently started getting more interested in riding her strider bike.

Some sledding on the frozen lake!

Ice skating on the lake!

She knows what is right and what is wrong and if she notices another kid doing something they shouldn't then she'll tell me which is only mildly awkward at times ;).

She has stopped napping during the day. She napped almost every day through the summer but then stopped napping at preschool this fall. She would still nap on the weekends for 2-2.5 hours but then she started having a hard time falling asleep at night. We tried shortening her naps and that worked for a little while but now she very rarely falls asleep.

She has done a great job with quiet time in her room. She usually goes in there after lunch. Sometime between 12:30-13 and she can come out at 14:30. If she does fall asleep we wake her up after 45 minutes to an hour.

First time on a bike with training wheels.

Linnea Funnies/Quotes
We often say "whoopsie" when something happens (like the lights turning yellow to let Linnea know it is time to get ready for bed). Jake said "whoopsie" about something and Linnea said, "You can also say darn it." Ha! She picked that up from the US and it definitely made us chuckle.

Skip To My Lou Darn It

Linnea has been working on rhyming words at home and at school. We often rhyme when we say her name or talk about something. She was rhyming without realizing what she was doing but now she's trying to do it on purpose. They also started working on language more at school including finding words that rhyme. While video chatting with Jake's parents we asked Linnea if she knew of any words that rhyme and she said "shoe" and "cow" Obviously we need to work on that a little bit more. We told her they don't actually rhyme. Her response: They do in Swedish. It turns out parenting a bilingual child when you aren't bilingual is a lesson in humility. Ha!

Linnea and I were reading a book with riddles. It gave clues about a word that starts with a certain letter and she was supposed to guess the word. The riddle was about marbles but she said kulor which is a marble in Swedish.

Linnea has been listening to Raffi and loves singing several of his songs like "Down By The Bay."

Remember
I want to remember your giggle. It is just the best. You giggle when you really want something, like cheerios, and finally, get it. Or when you see me and come crawling as fast as you can.

I want to remember that I was your favorite person for 12 whole months. This month that role will be threatened as your dad stays home with you on parental leave. I am SO DANG excited that we live in Stockholm and that he is able to take on this role. It is going to be so great for your relationship with him but also for my relationship with him :). Being a stay at home mom was all I wanted to be as a little girl other than a teacher. It turns out staying at home full time isn't for me. I am thankful for the time we had together and I will definitely miss you while I'm at school but I am ready to be back in the classroom.

We love you so much and I can't wait to see what you are up to the next few months!
Love,
Your Mama