Monday, December 1, 2008

1 Year Old


How did this happen? How did my little baby, that I just brought home from the hospital, turn a year old today? I guess time flies when you're having fun. And this year has been a blast!

Last year at this time, people were giving me those pitiful looks and wondering if I was having twins.
But, as soon as she was born, it was all worth it. She was perfect.
I hardly recognize her in these old pictures anymore. She has changed so much!


She is still into her books. She loves her Elmo books. She calls him "mmmm". She finds him on every page. She also likes animal books. She will make the sound or sign for many of the animals now.


She has finally weaned herself. She was down to just nursing in the morning and at night. But, she just stopped nursing one Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago. So, we basically made it to a year. Now when she wakes up, I take her a cup of formula and she drinks it while she is either snuggling in my lap or watching the cars out her window. As soon as I pick her up out of her crib, she usually does the sign for car until I open her window shade so she can watch them. This is how she drinks her milk at night as well before she goes to bed. She usually drinks about 12-20 oz. of formula a day.

She is still kind of a funny eater. Some days she eats great and some days she doesn't. Her favorite foods right now are broccoli, bananas, and cheese. We usually give her some of whatever I make for dinner. So, she isn't very picky. She just doesn't eat a lot of it. She loves to drink juice. She likes apple and white grape juices. She is still watching her videos while she eats. But, we have had a few meals without it.


Her communication has grown so much. She knows a lot of signs and sounds for things. She has watched the sign language videos so many times that she does the sign that is coming next. So, if "flower" is on, then she will start doing the sign for "hat" because she knows that it is coming on next. Here she is signing, "hat".

A lot of her signs are her own rendition of the actual ASL sign. Here she is signing "train". She does it when she hears the train whistle or other loud trucks outside that she thinks is a train.

Other signs:
~dog, bird, bunny, monkey, fish, baby, ball, milk, please, diaper, sleepy, eat, car, balloon, book and butterfly
Some "words"/sounds she is saying:
pa pa-for Pawpaw and Papa Paul
zzzzzz-bee or bugs
meow-cat
moo-cow
fowa-flower
fsh-fish
bu bu-banana
pu pu-paci
si-outside
voom-vroom for a car
fff-elephant
fff-ruff for a dog
mmm-Elmo
mmm-moon
aaaa-roar for a lion
ha-hot
It is so fun to be able to communicate with her now. I think she makes up signs as well and then she gets frustrated when we have no idea of what she is talking about. :)

When we say, "Madeline, do you want to take a bath?", she starts heading for the bathroom. She has really enjoyed her baths lately and has really been enjoying her bubbles.
She is sleeping great! She usually sleeps for about 11-13 hours at night. She goes to bed about 7:30-8. She seems to be down to one nap a day now. I usually lay her down around noon. She will sleep anywhere between 1 1/2 hours to 3 hours. It depends if there is a lot of noise outside of our condo or not. Unfortunately, they always seem to be leaf blowing during her nap time. She usually wakes up pretty happy. Many mornings, we can hear her talking in her room. When I go in to get her, she is sometimes just sitting up and playing with things in her bed. Other mornings, she is standing up, anxiously waiting for us to get her. But, she usually has a smile on her face. I'll keep her as my alarm clock over any store bought one anyday. :)
She is still a very active little girl. She loves to run around outside, climb up on anything and dance. This past weekend she was extra snuggly. Maybe she is starting to be a little more snuggly! But, most likely she was just a little hesitant about all the strangers around her for Thanksgiving.
She continues to bring so much joy to our hearts. Our love just keeps growing and growing for her with each passing day. We can't wait to find out what this next year has in store for her.
Happy Birthday, Madeline!

9 comments:

Above or Below the Mason/Dixon said...

AWWW! She's so precious! I can't believe she's a year old already too! Sheesh!!

Happy Birthday, Madeline!! (and then squeeze her for us, nomi)!!

Daniel and Kimberly Jordan said...

Happy Birthday Madeline, We hope that you got some ice cream cake. It is the best!

Daniel and Kimberly Jordan said...

What I meant to say is some Soy Dream Cake, Mmmmmmm. Still up there on the top of my list.

Lauren said...

I loved reading about her! I can't believe she is a year old either! Its so funny...it sounds like Madeline and Savannah have a LOT in common. Everything I read I was like oh my goodness Savannah is the same way... doesn't eat much...watches the dvds...loves Elmo...weaned herself... we really need to get our girls together! :) She is so adorable and I just loved her dress! :) Happy Birthday Madeline!

Unknown said...

I love the photo of her sitting in the bowl - my daughter used to love to sit in any container - so cute!

It's great that you are signing with your little one - it's an amazing thing to do...enjoy!

Sara Bingham, WeeHands Founder
Author of The Baby Signing Book

The Sinks said...

Happy Birthday Madeline! We sure do love you lots!

Nathaniel Simmons said...

That was a really fun post to read - you are a great mom

Chantry said...

Happy Happy Birthday! Looking at the pictures from one year ago its amazing how much she has changed! It makes me wonder what Lillianne will look like this time next year!

There is so much to be thankful for this season - one being your adorable little one! I know that you all had such a fun day celebrating!!

Bonita said...

I signed with my three children and loved it when they would make-up a sign for something and then assume that I would know what they were talking about. Now that they are older they use all ASL signs, but I still remember the looks they would give me when I "just didn't get it." Thanks for the memories!

Bonita Broughton
ECE Program Specialist
Baby Signs Institute