One!

Busy girl on her first birthday.

Not the best picture, but she doesn't really slow down for pictures these days!

The dreaded first birthday has arrived. Mommy was the only one dreading it. Michaela doesn't have a clue that today is her birthday, and everyone else is happy and excited. I just didn't want the first wonderful year to be over all ready. Thus, the dread. Oh, well. Onward!

Growth: Michaela is still wearing 12 months clothes, but we still have some 9 month items that fit, and there are some 18 month items that work for her, too. She still wears a size 3 diaper, but she has recently started wearing size 4 shoes. We will see the pediatrician next Thursday for more detailed information about height and weight. Update: Michaela's length was 29.75 inches long, and her weight was 21.6 pounds. That put her in the seventieth some-odd percentile for height, and the fiftieth some-odd percentile for weight.

Eating: Michaela is usually a good eater. She likes to feed herself, and she can get very frustrated if I help her too much. This is the first part of her personality that reminds me of me. My mom says I used to say, "I do!!!" Michaela can't say that yet, but I know that's what she means. It is also lots of fun to drop food on the floor, or feed her food to the dog. I do not like this, but for some reason I laugh when she does it. So, I guess she will continue doing it until I can pull myself together and give her one of my stern teacher looks instead. Just this week we stopped with the formula and switched to whole milk. She seems to love it, and it seems to agree with her. I am going to wait until school gets out to wean her off the bottle and transition to sippy cups for milk. She drinks water from a sippy cup, but I know she enjoys her bottle time.

Sleeping: Michaela usually takes a one or two hour nap in the morning, and about an hour nap in the afternoon. All naps take place in her crib. Her bedtime is 7 pm, and most nights she goes down without fussing. However, I can usually count on her awakening around 9 pm. Seems like she wakes up and thinks, "Hey, where' s Mom? I want to be in her bed now!" She's becoming more active in her sleep, and she really gets around through the night. I never know what direction she will be facing when I wake up. I read another co-sleeping parent's description of what kind of sleep one gets while sleeping with your child. She said it's a "decent" night's sleep. Not "great" but decent. That's an accurate description. I figure that I'd still be getting up in the night with Michaela if we weren't co-sleeping. She has a "chewy cloth" that she keeps in her mouth almost all night long, but if it comes out and she can't find it she cries. I'd be running into her room to find the chewy cloth more than once each night. This way, I just feel around and give it back to her. I can do that half asleep.

Other developments: Michaela's vocabulary is growing, but it's funny to me how she learns a word, uses it a lot, then abandons it for a while. The speech teacher at school said she's just storing it while she works on learning the next word she wants to use. So far I've heard her say "mama", "bur" (bird), "gog" (dog), "Buh-ee" for Buffy, "bay-bee" (baby), and "bye-bye". She chatters non-stop all day long. She also makes these vocalizations that I'm sure are her way of singing. She just has the cutest little voice.

While she's not walking on her own, she's very interested in walking. She likes to hold onto my hands and walk and walk. There is a toy at Grammy's with wheels on it that she can push along and walk behind. She really likes to do that. I am hoping she will wait to walk until school is out.

She spent her birthday with Grammy and Papa while Mommy worked and went to the doctor's after school. We stayed for dinner, and I brought her a little birthday cake from my favorite bakery. She smeared the frosting around, but wasn't very interested in the cake itself. Her birdie birthday bash is next weekend, and maybe she will eat some cake then. She has received several cards and gifts already. She loves the cards and the wrapping paper the most!

It has been an amazing year of developments and the reality of an answered prayer. I feel incredibly blessed to be Michaela's mommy. I try not to wish away a single day of this wonderful experience with her. I know from years of being an auntie, and from teaching, that children grow up way too fast. I don't want to miss a thing with this sweet child of mine.