Elise- 1 Year!!!

Dearest Elise,

Today you are one year old. I know they say times flies when you're having fun and this year has truly flown by. I can honestly say this has been the most wonderful year of my life. Watching you grow from a tiny little infant to a borderline toddler and little girl has been a blast!! You are a FUN baby (eek- can I still call you that?).

Some tidbits about you this month:

• You weigh 18 1/2 pounds and are still wearing most of your 9 month outfits, though you're starting to fit into 12 month clothes too.
• You are still a great sleeper! You sleep 12 hours every night and are still rocking the 2 hour morning naps and 1.5 hr afternoon naps. You go to sleep so easily, I just lay you in your crib and you're good to go. That said, you rarely sleep in your carseat or stroller; your crib is where you catch your ZZZs.
• You are becoming a picky eater. What you might love and devour one day gets tossed on the floor (by you) the next. Right now favorites seem to be blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Basically the most expensive fruits. Ha. You don't like bananas (what child doesn't like bananas???) and you're still unsure about meat. You dig your dairy products and your carbs. Grilled cheese and yogurt (and bc I'm sneaky, yogurt with veggies mixed in) are always favorites. You also like egg omelets... you love to try new things but don't always eat them all meal long.
• You have started the transition to whole milk. You're still nursing 2-3 times each day, especially in the morning. You like your milk to be warm and you only will drink it from a bottle. I'm trying hard to get you switched to a cup, but it hasn't happened yet.
• You have no problem standing independently and have taken up to 8 steps. However, you're not showing any interest in walking being your primary mode of transportation. Probably because you are a warp speed crawler and can get anywhere you want to go pretty quickly.
• You love opening cabinets and drawers and pulling everything out. Even though you're little, you're quite destructive!!! Daddy calls you FEMA; wherever you go, disaster follows. :)
• You are very chatty. Words include Dada, Mama, uh-oh, Ja (for Jaws), La (for lights), and Oooo... as in "oo la" which translates into "Oh, lights!" You babble all day long. Anyone you know and love can be called Dada. Sometimes I'm Dada, sometimes Tompa is Dada. :)
• You are very social and fun. We have lots of playdates and you love playing with other babies your age and especially watching older girls play.
• You still love to be outside and when a plane flies over, you point at it and watch it pass.

You are so pleasant and fun to be around. You put a smile on my face all day long. You have had a wonderful first year and I can't wait to see what next year brings!