12 Month Stats
Weight: 21lbs (approx.)
Length: 29.5in (approx.)
Eating: I haven't found anything that you don't like to eat and you love to try new foods. I don't think there's been anything that I have put in front of you that you haven't finished. You like to eat what you can pick up, not what you have to use a spoon or fork with, although you are getting a little bit better. A few days ago I started adding small amounts of milk to your bottle so you will slowly be transitioning over to cow's milk. It will be nice not to have to buy formula anymore except I am super particular about the milk you drink so I'm still sort of a crazy person! You are still drinking out of a bottle, although I plan on introducing sippy cups and straw cups soon.
Bedtime: we are finally in our groove and you go down about 6:45pm every night and (*knock on wood*) have been sleeping until at least 6am; some morning I even have to wake you up at 6:20! wahoo!!! So, we've pretty much corrected your ways just in time to go to Kansas next week and mess it up all over again :)
Naps: you are still a great napper and sleep about an hour and a half in the morning around 8am and then for about two hours in the afternoon around 1pm
Diapers: still cruisin along in size 3s, you're so skinny, I am not sure the 4s will stay on you
Clothes: you were in 12mo pants for about a week and then they were too short and I had to pull out all of the 18mo pants, which was a good thing because that's where all of the winter, warmer clothes were.
Favorites: you love eating Roscoe's dog food and scavenging food off the floor. We can find you by the doggy door or in the bathroom and as soon as you hear us coming you scurry away because you know you're about to get in trouble. You love opening and closing doors and can do this for a good 10min before getting bored.
Development: you are jabbering more and more and have recently started saying "ooooo" when you're impressed and "byeeeeee" when someone is leaving. You are climbing onto anything and everything and we really have to keep an eye on you. You will put your hands up in the air when you want to be picked up and, if we ignore you, you grab ahold of our pants and start furiously shaking until you get your way. Yesterday you started giving kisses!
Our little love, Nellie,
Happy 1st birthday!!! How are you already one?! I look at your all the time and think you can't possibly be one, that we must have counted wrong or had you on a different day, a couple of months from now. You have such an independent personality and love to do things your way. You still are not happy when you aren't allowed to do what you want and have bitten your sister, me and Tori on more than one occasion. However, it's so hard to get mad at you because once you're done you just start smiling and spitting and sometimes I can barely hold it together.
You are rough and tumble and I just know that you are going to be dad's tomboy and want to do all kinds of sports and crazy activities with him. You're our little firecracker and our little lovebug all rolled up in one.
You are such a little monkey and now know how to climb up onto the couch, the stepstool in the bathroom and, most recently, the ladder on the swingset that leads up to the slide. We literally cannot take our eyes off of you!
I am amazed at all of the stuff you can already do, that I suppose that Mila was already doing by now but, you're the baby so how are you already doing it?! In addition to sitting at a big girl table, you can occasionally feed yourself and you can eat so many foods that I am sure you will choke on because you're too little, but you always end up surprising me. I think you will forever be a baby in my head (I am beginning to see how this second child thing works!).
You jibber jabber all over the place and recently started saying "bye;" when you're not blabbering you're spitting and having no respect for authority.
Christmas is coming right up and I can't wait for your first REAL Christmas. You won't leave the Christmas tree alone, but somehow it's remained standing.
You have so much fun with Tori and absolutely adore her. We are so lucky to have her because she loves you just as much as we do, I think. She's always taking you fun places and I love that you have another girl with you to be friends and interact with, I think that's so important.
Mila is still your favorite person in life and you already look up to her. Now that you are interacting with and can relate to her you guys are the best of friends. It absolutely melts my heart and also makes me feel like I am going to die of a love overload every time I see you together. You play with each other, dance around, chase each other around the house, fight, apparently bite (one, not both) and always love on one another. When Mila gets mad at you she calls you, "Nell Bell Marie"!!!! I want to die laughing every single time; I tried telling her Bell isn't a real part of your name and that your middle name is Lyn, but she's not having it.
Yesterday your cousin, William Davis Brown, was born. I can't wait to see you all together. We are so excited to have a boy in the family, and another baby!
Happy 1st bithday my little lovebug! Thank you for an amazing year, please make time slow down, you're already growing up too fast! We love you SO amazingly much.
Love,
Mommy
