12 Months!

Who's hiding under that bear?
It's the Birthday kid! Lila Jane, you are 12 months old! That's a whole YEAR! You're such a big kid now!!
So what are you up to now? I'm a little late posting this, so now I can officially say you are WALKING!!! You started on December 2, taking 6-8 steps at a time. You still aren't confident for distances, but you readily stand and toddle toward me every time I put you down a few feet away! This is a HUGE accomplishment, and we're SO proud of you! I always thought you'd start walking ON your Birthday, but you decided to wait a week or so, just to prove me wrong.
You still eat EVERYthing. Except baby food, of course. Or anything mushy that even might be baby food. Applesauce and mashed potatoes are not your favorites. You love toddler favorites like noodles, Goldfish crackers, grapes, and raisins. But you also love cabbage, Indian food, brussel sprouts, and anything else we give you. I hope that you always have a diverse palate, but I know the pickier days are ahead. Your bottles are officially GONE! Mommy had a much harder time letting go of them than you did. I think you actually prefer your straw sippy cups because you can drink from them so much faster.

You're still an awesome sleeper. You usually sleep 11 1/2 - 12 hours at night. When you moved into the Toddler room at school, you dropped your morning nap, so you nap once a day. At home that nap is 2-3 hours, but at school, you're only sleeping about an hour. I think there's so much going on, you just can't stay asleep. You've been a VERY tired girl when you get home at night!
You moved into the "big kid" room at school. You're now in with Mrs. Kim, Mrs. Megan (who's currently on maternity leave), Mrs. DeBonna, and Ms. Katie. You love them all, even though you constantly tell Kim NONONOoooo! I miss your old room and your old teachers, but I also love your new room and your new teachers. I mostly love that you're able to come to school with Mom every day so I can visit throughout the day!

Your language skills are really just exploding! You are signing so many things, I have trouble keeping up, and you're starting to repeat a LOT of words!
Your signs: please, eat, blow kisses, bath, diaper, all done, milk, hat, hi, bye, touchdown, thank you
Your words (the ones I can remember!): hi, bye, mama, dada, bath, cat, hat, uh0h, hohoho!, pop, mim (but kinda sounds more like mum), and a few others I can't think of...Your favorite toys right now are your push toys. You have the pink stroller that Mim and Pop got you for your birthday, and the Green Dinosaur one from Amy. You constantly go back to both of those when you're playing. Your other favorite toys are "anything you aren't allowed to play with", including cell phones, remote controls, all mail, lint and fuzz from the floor, toilet paper, the Christmas tree, and the fireplaces. You are SOOO busy, it's really hard to keep you out of these things! Luckily, you also love books, and when all else fails, I can usually pull you into my lap and distract you for a few minutes with some good stories.
We haven't been to your 1 year appointment yet, so I don't have your current height and weight. I'll try to add them later. I'm determined to get back into the hang of blogging for you. Your birthday party about did me in! It was really important to me to have a fun home-made birthday party for you. I have such awesome memories of my own birthdays at home, and I want that for you as well. I just never realized how much work they can be! I ended up recruiting Mim and Pop, Daddy, Aunt B, and others to help me out with details! And it was perfect!! We had lots of family, friends, and FOOD with plenty of fun little details.

Lila, I can't believe you've already been with us a whole year, and I can't believe how much you've learned, changed, and grown. Every month, it's like you're a whole new child. And every month, you're a lot more fun! I love to sit in the floor and play with you. You wander off to play with toys, but you always come back to give me a hug or kiss within a few minutes. I love our carpet picnics with goldfish crackers and raisins. I love the big wet kisses you give me, and the way you giggle at me. I love when your eyes get sleepy and you snuggle into my shoulder. I love how you pop up in your bed every morning with the biggest smile, ready to face the day. I love dressing you up, and taking you everywhere with me. You're always so content when we're out and about. I love you through and through, my little peanut. And your daddy is over the moon about you, too.