Sprout is One Year Old!

Sprout is one year old!

It feels like it's been a month since Christmas Eve, when Sprout officially turned one year old.  The past ten days or so have been filled with celebrations and spending time with family and friends.  A very nice ending to the year.  

Sprout had her Canadian first birthday party earlier this month and we had birthday cake after our Christmas Eve dinner.  A few days later we celebrated at Jen's parents' house with our American family.  Sprout seemed to enjoy all the extra attention, even if she wasn't quite sure what it was all about.

This last month of her first year has brought about some big changes.  

-Sprout seems to be making a big effort towards communicating with us.  She points, waves hello and goodbye, blows kisses, and makes silly faces.  There are a few "words" that she says consistently --Mama, Ma, Hi, Hello.  When we give her a phone she'll say "Hello Aunt Jen" ("Lo Ad Den") which is pretty funny.  (I guess I speak to my sister pretty often!)  She babbles constantly and we feel like she has a ton that she wants to say.  I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were a big word explosion really soon. 

-We also feel like she is on the cusp on walking.  She pulls up on everything and will free stand quite often, but has yet to take an actual step.  She's very proficient at crusing and pushes a number of objects around --her walker, the bus, but also chairs and larger toys.  She is also starting to climb everything.  I had almost forgotten about all the bumps and bruises this stage brings.

-The bus and her walker are definitely favourite toys.  She also loves balls and the tunnel.  And things like funnels, pots and pans and the salad spinner and the cat.  Naturally.

-She continues to love music class.  It's over now and I missed the sign up for the next session.  We sing a lot at home though.  

-Overall, she eats pretty well now. Her preference is still for meats (chicken and turkey)  blended with vegetables over fruits and she LOVES lentils.  If she has a day where she doesn't eat well, because she will still sometimes refuse solid foods, she almost always throws up in the evening.  Needless to say, we're trying to make sure she eats a little bit even when she's being stubborn about it. 

-Sleep continues to be a work in progress.  I've pretty much given up on trying to get her to do more than a 40 minute nap (twice a day).  I was spending longer getting her down for the second half of her nap than she was actually sleeping.  It just wasn't worth it.  I would like it if we could get her down for bed earlier, I wonder if it'd help her nighttime sleep, but it's really not possible to change our schedule enough to make it happen.  :/

-She cut her top two incisors just after turning 11 months.  We, thankfully, seem to be on a bit of a break from teething.  

-Along with teething she had another nasty cold just after the last update.  It lingered a while, but she seems to be better now.  She definitely gets sick more often than her brother did.  

-Her hair is growing like crazy.  I gave her a little trim across the back to clean it up a bit and saved a lock for her baby book.   Her bangs are really long and we have to clip them back with a barrette or elastic to keep them out of her eyes.  The "waterfall" looks a little funny, but she's cute so she can pull it off. ;)  

-She has the habit of sticking out her tongue when she's concentrating on things.  It's adorable.  

-No big change in her size.  Her one year check up is next week, so I'll update with stats then.  

-She has maintained her sunny disposition.  She's happiest when she's getting a lot of attention (from me, Jen or someone else who she is comfortable with), she plays nicely on her own for increasingly long periods of time.  She lets us know when there's something she wants, and usually settles right down when we provide her with whatever it is.

I love this age and look forward to spending the coming months and years continuing to watch her grow and develop.  She brings us such joy.