It’s really here! Maddie’s 1st birthday! I say it every month, but where did the time go and what happened to my baby!? She’s growing so fast and becoming such a big girl. She is so sweet and getting more personality every day.
Some new things she has been doing these days: she is so determined and so curious. She studies things very carefully. I see Chuck in her when she does this. My mom gave her a Gyro Bowl the other day and she studied that thing like she needed to know how it worked. It’s so cute!
She is very into books and bringing things to us. She will bring us her books to hold for her so she can flip through them, or brings us her toys or blankets.
She also understands a freakish amount of words. You can ask her if she wants milk and she goes over to the refrigerator and tries to open it. Ask her if she wants to go upstairs, and she runs to the gate on the stairs. Ask her where her head is, and she finds her “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes” book and then pats her head. Ask her where her “baby” is and she will bring you a doll. Ask her where the puppy is, and she brings us her puppy doll. Ask her if she wants some food and she goes to her high chair. It’s so fascinating and so scary at the same time. It makes you think about what you say to or around her because she really listens.
She is starting to copy what you say and make more noises and sounds. We have been working on animal noises. Sometimes she will get them on her own, but mostly she will copy what you do for an animal noise. She is pretty consistent at knowing a cow noise. You say “mooo” and she says “oooo.” It’s really cute.
She also likes to climb up the stairs. She’s getting faster every time she goes up them. Chuck got her to go down the stairs. She went backwards once, but mostly she would stand up on the step, inch forward until she felt the edge with her toes and then sit down and put her feet on the step below her.
I just used up the last of the formula a couple days ago and started her on milk. Milk is going to be so much cheaper than formula! Now I just have to get her to drink out of a cup and not her sippy/straw cups all the time.
I posted a video the other day about her feeding herself yogurt. Using a spoon like that is a new skill. I thought it would take her longer to figure it out, but she just picked it up and went for it. It’s amazing the things kids can do!
She has been starting to stack blocks and things, but she mostly likes to just knock them down. I cut a hole in an oatmeal container, and she likes to put spoons and letter rings into the slot. She loves stacking her blocks on her block stacker. In the last few days, her favorite toys have been balls. She runs after it yelling “Baaaaaa” and then picks it up and throws it or kicks it around the room. It cracks me up!
Maddie is also acting like she wants to go to one nap. When I put her down for her morning nap, she isn’t usually rubbing her eyes like she normally does, and it will take her almost a half hour to fall asleep. Then, in the afternoon, she hasn’t taken a nap. She just plays in her crib. She has been happy at night, though, so I am thinking she just doesn’t need to sleep quite as long during the day. But since her birthday party is at noon, we will try one nap after her party so she can still get a nap in before her party (hopefully). I’ll be sure to report how that transition goes!
And in a couple days, we will be having Maddie’s birthday party. I know it doesn’t mean much to her, but I am so excited to celebrate with friends and family! I know there will be tons of pictures (and videos) of the fun event!
Here are the pictures from the past month and the previous months of posts.
After such a great post about what a wonderful baby Maddie has become, I feel like I should look back and reflect on when she was born. It was such a happy day mixed in with some scary stuff. I wouldn’t change anything about the past year. I know I made the right choice for me to stay home with her and I can’t wait to see what excitement the next year will bring!
On another note….I should probably get rid of my thing on the top of my website that says how old Maddie is. 
Or maybe I’ll keep it! At least I saved the picture that says she is 1! 
