One Year

Happy First Birthday, Mae!

It seems impossible that one year has passed since my little girl was placed in my arms.  She's still pretty tiny, but she's far more mobile, expressive, and if possible more adorable as when she entered this world. 

Mae's 12th month brought more firsts:   first time sleeping in her own room,  first Christmas, first allergic reaction, first 911 call, first bout of bronciolitis, first New Year's Eve.

Let's start with Mae's chomper count:  3 total for her first year.  Her second top tooth has broken through the gums, but since it isn't truly visible we will leave the total count at 3.   She's doing well to use them on appropriate things.  Although she does bite when she gets really mad.  Doesn't bode well for preschool, so hopefully she out grows that tantrum.

Mae is putting those teeth to good use in the food department and has started to eat things like sliced turkey, cheese, and even her first McDonald's nugget! She does drink a little goat's milk daily, but nothing terribly measurable and she does so in a sippy cup.  We've skipped bottles entirely - in spite of the $ that I dropped on several fancy ones. Ah well.   She still eats like a baby bird and relies mostly on mama milk.  I think she's going to trend like her brother on the very little food consumption for a bit, making her mama count calories and be nervous.    She is growing though.  She weighs 16.14lbs (2.02%) and is 26.52" (1.70%)  so while she's nearly off the charts she is gaining weight, in spite of illness.

Yes, this last month has been quite the challenge for Mae Mae.   She had a cold when she cut her tooth that seems to be pretty normal for her teething routine it seems, but after the cold (or during?)  we discovered she had an allergy and had to go through the process of handling that, allergist appointments, and carrying around epi pens.  After the immediate reaction we followed up with her doctor who diagnosed our little girl with bronciolitis because she just sounded so junky in her lungs.  By New Years she was feeling much better and when the allergist listened to her lungs, she was totally clear and over it (a week later.)  

I mentioned earlier that Mae slept in her room for the first time, and to date, the only time.  She developed  her cold right after that and this mama bear likes her baby close when she's got a cold. After that it was the allergy, then the bronciolitis, and well now to be honest, her room needs to be cleaned and reorganized again before we can place her in there again.   :)    In general Mae's sleep is not ideal.   She's doing decent napping - sometimes we'll get 90+ minutes out of her - that seems to be once every 5 days.   She is pretty much down to one nap sometime in the afternoon.   She does car nap pretty consistently though.   Her nighttime sleep though is quite dramatic.  As in it takes forever to get her to sleep.  No routine, lighting, or mood can get her to become unconscious unless she a) wants to or b) screams until she's unconscious in our arms.   The doctor yesterday said that is most likely a separation anxiety issue and should pass with time.   Here's hoping sooner than later!

Vocabulary wise we don't have much more official words.   She really doesn't say 'mama' much anymore unless she's upset and reaching for me (and even then it often is only one 'ma' and that is milk)   Although her 'ma' for milk is morphing into 'meee' so she's getting closer to actually getting the real word out.    Same with 'brother' - it often still is 'ba'  but she is on occasion says 'bru da'  - she still utters 'up' but mostly she just reaches her arms up and fusses.   We try really hard to not automatically give her what she wants so that she does need to exercise the language skills.    I have been working with her to say 'please' in sign language and what's really cute is that she signs 'please' on me when she wants it - which for her is just waving on my chest back and forth.    It's sweet.      She is very good at waving hi and bye and on occasion she will say both of those words.   

Development wise, she sort of knows the color red.  I'd say 70% of the time she can show me something red if there are three choices to choose from.   She does really well at eye contact and seeking my approval or disapproval on her actions (or the actions of others.)    She can also put things in and out of a container.     She loves to follow her brother and play with him.   They are starting to get into a bit of a tussle every now and then over a toy, as Mae seems to find it her right to simply take anything and everything her brother has.   He does ok with the process most of the time.     Mae also has started to shake her head 'no' some times when we ask her to do something.   It's cute (currently.)  Mae most of the time is adorably happy,  big smiles and giggling.  However, she does have quite an explosive 0-100% mad gauge. She has easily moved into tantrums without much issue. Whole body going stiff, beet red, and mad mad mad. She recovers quickly, but my goodness she can express her displeasure like no other.

Mae is fully walking now and has some decent speed with it too.   She climbs everywhere she can get to and even tries to climb some places she can't.  While cute- she certainly is going to make me go gray.    She is now quite proficient at climbing up and down the stairs - which makes me much happier that she's mastered these skills.  She still on occasion likes to stand right at the top of the stairs and dance - which is cause for a mild-heart attack by this mama, but overall she has avoided tumbles and mishaps.  But this little girl's guardian angel does certainly work overtime! 

Toys and play:  Mae still loves her little baby doll, and her Sophie giraffe (which lives in the car), and she loves baby dolls and soft stuffed animals.  She likes to carry them around and play peek a boo with them.   She also really loves to put blankets, pants... anything on her head and walk around that way.   Also LOVES to put anything around her neck that she can fashion into a scarf...  she really is my danger child.   Trust me, she's never out of my sight in light of these 'hobbies' of hers.   She's adorable though when she's behaving safely.     Mae really hasn't taken an interest in any particular show or movie.  She for the most part couldn't care less when the tv is on, other than her interest in climbing up onto the table the tv is on.    She still loves to chew on things, but has moved past putting EVERYTHING into her mouth... but she still puts plenty in.      She loves to play the 'upside down' game with her dad,  playing he her room with her brother, and poking noses with her mama.    She's just so happy.  Mae also likes to sing along when we sing songs with "ahhhhhs" in various notes. Pretty cute!

It's so hard to believe that a whole year has gone by!  I can't believe it.  It feels it went even faster than Ace's first year.    She's so special, and is certainly developing into her own personality in this family and we love to watch her do so.    Happy Birthday,  Owlie!  Mommy, Dad, and Brother all love you so much!!