Daddy filmed me eating my birthday cake.
And here are a couple new pictures from today when I was wearing my new outfit from Auntie Leah. In one you can see all my big girl teeth! And in the other one I'm obliging my mom by standing still for a minute for a picture.
I had a really fun time at my birthday party on Saturday. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with me. I found a new favorite food - lasagna! I ate a ton of it for dinner. And then it was time for cake! I was so excited when I saw my little cake that I clapped my hands. Then they lit the candle! And THEN they sang happy birthday! It was the greatest! But it only got better because they gave me the whole cake to eat all by myself. I got really messy and really full. After mangling the cake, I threw it right on the floor. Grandma Lanz picked it up and gave it back to me, which she thought was being pretty nice. But I wasn't interested in anything except throwing it again. Washing me up took a little while and then I got to open my presents. I got some cute clothes. Some money that I just chucked to the side. And a noisy little push mower that plays music.
Today was my one-year visit to the doctor. I like my doctor. She says I'm growing nicely and am well proportioned despite the fact that I slipped a few more percentile points. I weighted 17 lbs 13 oz (6%) and measured 27 inches (3%). Considering my percentiles, it's amazing that I'm wearing 12 month clothes. The nurses aren't so very nice. While Mommy says I'm brave and friendly and handled everything much better than William did when he was my age, I was pretty mad about those shots! But the rest of the time I was happy and smiling and noticing all the fish tanks around the doctor's office.
I've been walking a lot better lately. I have taken as many as 7 or 8 steps at a time. But I still much prefer crawling. It's a pretty special event to see me walk because I have to be in just the right mood. But before you know it I'll be walking all the time.
Happy Birthday to me! I turned one today! The day passed with little excitement. I got a few phonecalls with happy birthday wishes that my parents fielded for me. Thank you to those who called. And then we had a pancake dinner. I loved every bite! After dinner we took a family trip to the library. I know that isn't too exciting, but we hadn't been there in a while and it was Daddy's first time in the new building!
I had my Maple Grove party this past weekend, which was very fun! I enjoyed exploring everything, especially my yummy cake that Dani made! Everyone was present who was in the delivery room the morning I was born exactly one year ago (minus one great-uncle, plus one brother).
I will have more birthday excitement on Saturday from what I hear. Then next week I'll have a doctor visit. Thankfully I'm feeling much better from my cold. I am sleeping better every night and my nose is mostly clear now. By Monday I should be plenty healthy for all those shots!
Last weekend was a blast! With Ellie pushing her shopping kart and the cake mess! lol!
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from my whole family! If you are on our Christmas card list, Mommy and Daddy have been working hard to get out some last minute cards. Hang tight. One batch went out on Saturday and more should be in the mail tomorrow. I haven't been making it easy on them. I usually play really nicely, but have decided that this is a good time to be clingy, since everyone is so busy. I need to make sure to get my fair share of attention.
Another thing that's been taking up my family's attention is Mommy's birthday. Mom and Dad have been going out and leaving me and William with grandparents, which is fun, but I miss my Mommy time. And then when they are around, it seems like someone is always playing the Wii since Mommy opened her present on Friday morning. She was really surprised because she thought all she got was an electric tea kettle, which she needed. But then in the bottom of the box, surprise! There was Wii Sport! And you can't play that without a Wii! I'm glad she got it because now I won't have to listen to her try to convince Daddy that we should get one anymore. And I like to pretend that I'm doing it, too.
If you're wondering about me walking, don't bother. I'm not at all interested in walking on my own. Those few steps I told you about a few weeks ago was the last time I tried taking steps without holding on. I have no patience for practicing and I just get down and crawl away. But I am happy to walk around all day if I'm holding on with at least one hand. That way I can go FAST! Can you imagine me when I get my drivers' license?
I'm so proud of myself! I am learning so much. I took a couple very wobbly steps on my own today before someone had to catch me. It was so exciting! I'd probably be walking by now if I wasn't so excited. My diving attempts have me bouncing and giggling more often than stepping. But watch out, when my feet catch up with my enthusiasm, I can guarantee I'll be running!
I've also started blowing kisses. At bedtime my parents always help me blow kisses to the rest of my family and I love it. But I would never, ever do it on my own. I think it was because I knew they would eventually do it for me. If they give me the idea when it's not really bedtime, then I'll blow kisses all on my own.
A new fun game that I learned is to use the hammer and pound to make the balls roll down in the Hammer Away boat. My hand eye coordination is really great! Plus I'm fast and I can reach farther than you would think, which can sometimes make for trouble. But I have learned quickly to keep my hands to myself when my parents are holding me and trying to do something like eat or drink or cook. I know that if I want to be held, I have to look and not touch.
YAY!! I'm so proud of our baby girl!! Can't wait to see her in action myself!
I just wanted to let you know real quick that those top two teeth finally poked through on Saturday! They must have taken a break for a while because they didn't bother me at all for a couple weeks and then this last week I was working really hard on them again! Now they're finally through so hopefully I'll be more comfortable for a while. After I get rid of this nasty cold, of course. I can thank William for this one. Well, it's between him coughing and the fact that my fingers are always in my mouth with all this teething. But aside from keeping Mommy in the steamy bathroom a couple nights nursing my croup, I've been my usual happy self. And my breathing has improved, so it looks like my first croup is conquered. Well, back to my usual busy-ness. I've got to go work on my next milestone. I've been having lots of fun walking holding on one-handed lately, so stay tuned!
It's been a lot of fun around here lately. We've just been doing normal, every day things, but to me it's all exciting and new. The library is always a fun place to play. There are even fun toys for me at the library!
I'm enjoying eating these days. I like to try new foods and get bored with the same old things. Hopefully I'll remember this when I'm four like William. The messier the food is, the more fun it is!
I am getting to be quite the climber. There's not much in our living room that is out of my reach anymore. I discovered a fun new game with the "old fashioned chair," as William calls it. He always takes the cushion off and piles blankets in the seat to make a bulldozer. Then I crawl under the foot rest and hit my head, so Mommy pushes the foot rest back in. That must've been my plan all along because then I can play my fun new game. I climb up in the chair and on top of the blankets. Then Mommy puts the cushion on the floor in case I fall. But then I get down on my belly and slide like a penguin down to the cushion! I get back up and do it all again. One of these days someone has to put some new video of me up so you can see. It's great fun!
My other favorite new game is dumping! Actually, it's more like flinging. I stand by my toy basket and fling the toys out. I can get some good distance! Watch out! Some of those hard plastic baby toys hurt if they hit you.
Yesterday I turned 10 months old. Soon I will be one, can you believe it? I'm getting really good at walking when people hold onto my hands. I wonder when my first steps will be... I love crawling and can get around really fast. Anytime someone tries to get me to stand without holding on, I drop right down and crawl. Why would I want to just stand there? I'd rather be on the go!
Mommy was looking back at William's blog entries and saw that he was as big as me when he was about three months old. That's how different we are! She says that with William she had hoped for a big baby and did she ever get her wish. But she soon realized that she missed out on having a little baby, so with me she again got her wish! I think that's pretty special!
Speaking of William, he's been a great big brother to me lately. He is always looking out for me and making sure I'm safe by putting up the "baby blocks." He doesn't let me get into ANYTHING, even if Mommy says it's okay, like when I get into the paper recycling or play with Belle's dog toys. Mommy says I can't eat it and I'm getting better about not putting everything in my mouth. But William is more strict and won't even let me TOUCH it!
My top teeth are showing through the gums and should come in any time now. They've been really bugging me for the last week and I can't wait until they're through. Plus, I'll be even cuter with top teeth! So watch out!
Last night I couldn't sleep. Mommy and Daddy could not comfort me because I was in so much pain. Grandma Mary was coming to spend a couple hours with me while William was at school with Mommy. We just snuggled and rocked while I dozed in and out the whole time. I was so tired from not sleeping well all night. Daddy called and got me a doctor's appointment and when Mommy came home we went. William stayed back and played with Grandma Mary. She's so nice! At the doctor's office they found out that I had another ear infection. I knew it! I felt just like I did the last time. At least I had been to the doctor twice since then and they had confirmed that my ears were clear. So I got more of the same medicine. And since I am bigger now (my weight with clothes on was over 17 lbs) I have to take a lot more of it. Yuck! But at least it makes me feel better quickly. I hope the pain goes away as suddenly as it came because yesterday I was happy as a clam and playing like normal. We thought I was over my cold. Then - BAM! So, like I said, hopefully it goes away just as fast. I'll have to visit Grandma again soon, when I'm back to myself!
I've been very busy exploring the last few days. Mommy removed all the blocks from around the living room since I was getting through them anyway, so I've had free reign to explore everything. I right away discovered the cabinets and some fun bowls to bang together. Then Saturday I discovered the stairs! They are very fun to climb. On Sunday, Mommy gave Daddy a list of baby proofing items to complete.
Another big accomplishment for me lately is talking. When we read animal sound books, I like to say "boo" for "moo." And yesterday when I was up in my room, I heard Belle bark and said, "Ba." I have also been doing more signing. Here's a list of my signs so far: ball, more, drink, and fish. You may also count waving bye-bye, shaking my head no, and clapping. I figured out the best way to get a good sounding clap is to slap my arm.
I really enjoy music. I like to dance to the music and play music. Some of my favorite instruments are the drum, tambourine, xylophone, and the piano. Basically anything I can bang on is fun for me!