Today my toddler is 13 months old. That sounds so old to me! I have been debating on whether or not to keep doing the monthly posts. If I do it for her, I'll have to do it for all our other children and I didn't know if I wanted to commit. But alas, I've decided to go for it - at least until she is 2. Her first 12 months were filled with so much physical development. This year will be less physical (she'll gain a little weight, she'll grow a little taller, and hopefully she'll get a lot more hair) but it will be filled with a ton of cognitive development. I feel like I call Adam every day and say, "C did ____!! She's so smart!" Her little brain is learning at lightning speed these days and I don't want to forget anything.
Behavior wise, this has been the best and worst month so far. It's the best because she's starting to understand some words and follow some simple directions. We keep our wedding album on the bottom of a console table. Every time she walked over to it I would tell her no and move her away. This went on several times a day for the past several months. Finally a breakthrough! She'll still go over to it, but she won't open it and she'll look at me with pleading eyes. Once I say no, she's good. She'll find something else. I can say "go see Daddy" and she will walk over to Adam. She likes standing in chairs and she can now understand "sit down." Most of the time she will actually listen to me! I love it! It's also been the worst because now that she does understand some things, she can also ignore those things. She's very vocal about the things she wants. Sometimes telling her no results in a massive temper tantrum. She reminds me that she is, in fact, a toddler and that we are heading toward the exciting "terrible twos." Thankfully these tantrums don't ever last more than a couple of minutes, but for those two minutes I'm just a ball of nerves! It's my job to teach her how the world works and I know if I come unglued during her tantrums then she'll only learn that it's acceptable to keep having them. I keep reminding myself of that, but it sure can be hard to remember when you're trying to calm down a screaming and crying toddler!!
Caroline has been napping and sleeping like a champ!! We finally hit a turning point and I.just.love.it. I am guaranteed at least one (and many days two!) naps which usually last any where from 1-3 hours. This has been great for the state of our house and laundry. She will also go down to bed without crying and sleeps until 8:00 without waking up! Her eating, however, has gone downhill. She's become very picky with food. She's eating all table food now, so that makes feeding her easier. She also still wants a bottle rather than a sippy cup. The pediatrician had recommended weaning her off the bottle at 12 months and by 15 months to be solely on sippy cups. I still have 2 more months so hopefully I can do that! Here's C at lunch actually eating for a change.
This little girl is into everything! She loves opening cabinets, drawers, trash cans, whatever you can open!! She's also into climbing. I opened the refridgerator to put away some strawberries. I turned around to grab something else and Caroline had climbed inside the fridge and was grabbing cans to pull out. Sometimes I have to turn around so she doesn't see me laugh after I tell her no. She just does the funniest and cutest stuff - even if it is wrong!!
Ever since she was born, Caroline has been a Daddy's girl. She used to cry in the middle of the night and I couldn't get her to calm down. I would frantically call for Adam. He would come in and hold her for all of 3 seconds before she calmed down. Lately she's been all about me, which I (not so) secretly love. She reaches for me all the time and it just melts my heart. I love that little girl so much!
She's learned lots of fun new things. She can put her blocks away when asked and she's started stacking the rings in (usually) the correct order! Her hand eye coordination has gotten so much better in the past month.
I am just loving this stage that she is in right now, even with the tantrums and picky eating. Her personality becomes more apparent each day and I love the person that she is becoming. I only hope that Adam and I will be the best parents we can be so that we can guide her through these crazy toddler years!
Happy 13 months little girl! I am so proud of you and love you more than any mother has ever loved their child (at least that's what it feels like!).
1 comment:
Those last pics= hysterical.
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