Twelfth month recap.

Wow, this month flew by!  I feel we just celebrated her birthday and now she is already 13 months old! Time does fly when you are having fun!

Weight: 22 lbs

Height: ???

Napping: A morning and an afternoon nap.  She still cries and screams at times while falling asleep, but not always.  They are lasting anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours. Snuggles up with her blanket while sleeping and it is absolutely adorable! 

Night: Well, I had a moment in this department, and by "a moment" I mean that I decided that I would no longer go into her room if she cried out at night.  Soooo, she sleeps through the night (12 hours), but she still does cry out sometimes.  I take a peak at the monitor, but I ignore her and do not go in unless it is morning time.  Sometimes she cries out once or twice in the night (for anywhere from a few minutes to 30) and other nights she doesn't make a peep.  The buck had to stop somewhere and it happened in the twelfth month....

relaxing with her feet in the toy box while watching Mickey Mouse

Food: Olivia is a great eater.  She feeds completely feeds herself except for yogurt and oatmeal.  She doesn't over stuff her mouth like some toddlers, so I am thankful for that.  Some of her favorite foods right now include: scrambled eggs, turkey hot dogs, blueberries, strawberries, yogurt, and cheese.  She has decided that she no longer likes toast (weird - she used to love it!) and has become preferential with things that she wants.  For example, if she sees me start to make her a hot dog she will stop eating whatever is on her tray (even if she was shoveling it in!), throw her hands out, and fuss/scream until it is ready.  She loves to have her own utensils and dip it into the yogurt or cereal, which creates a mess but is great for her motor skills.

Nursing: Twice a day (morning and night).  She drinks whole milk throughout the day to supplement the missed nursings.  However, she is a milk snob and will only drink organic whole milk :)  She gets this honestly from me, so I cannot complain!

Skills: WALKS everywhere with impressive balance for just beginning (for my own record keeping this happened at 12 1/2 months).  Her falls are few and far between these days and she handles any surface (i.e., grass, gravel, cement) and can maneuver the steps into the house all by herself.   Squats from standing to pick up toys and stands back up without support.  Brushes her own teeth.  Climbs on and off of her riding toys.  Handles stairs (both up and down) independently.

Language: I still love this category best!
Receptive:  points to her belly, feet, and head when asked "where is your xxx?", follows simple verbal commands such as "go to your highchair so you can eat" or "put the book away", can correctly get her fish and her duck during bath time when asked, points to her head when we ask "where does a hat go" and to her feet when we ask "where do you put your shoes?"
Expressive: says 'that' and points to everything!, hasn't added many new words this month, but has increased her accuracy with her vocabulary (i.e., will point to a cat in a book and say 'cat' or to the dog and say 'da'), her favorite words are 'hi', 'hat', and 'that', signs 'please' and 'all done' appropriately.  Repeats simple words/phrases with the correct vocal pattern and syllable structure (e.g., car ride, outside, snack time)

Fun Facts:  wears size 3 diapers, size 4 shoes and size 12-18 month clothes, loves hats and wearing things around her neck, wants to eat anything that we are eating, likes riding in the car now that she is facing forward, still dances whenever she hears music or we say "do you year music?", will bring me her shoes, indicate she wants them on, and then walk to the door and point outside, gets very excited anytime we see other children, will put her hand to her mouth to blow a kiss but can't get the "launch" part down yet, loves to bring us our shoes and then carry them back to the back room again, loves to point at birds and airplanes flying in the sky, still throws a fit through most diaper changes, picks up the remote and points it to the TV when she wants to watch a DVD, "snuggles with Daddy" by laying her head on his chest when he asks her to, gives high fives, will flip the pages of a book and babble like she is reading it, her favorite books right now include Brown Bear Brown Bear, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and lift-the-flap books, prefers mommy most all of the time, loves on her baby by hugging her, is a happy smiling girl most all of the time (but she does have her moments;)!   It has been a fun twelfth month!