Little Lermas!: Isabella 13 Months!

And just like that, I am now telling people I have a 1 year old...not a "X month old!" That is crazy! The first year just flew by! Most times it makes me so sad, but then I look at Isabella and all the things she is learning and doing, and how much more fun she is today vs a newborn little (sweet, snugly, cute!) lump who can't do anything, and I love it! So with that...

Happy 13 Months Isabella Rae!

Not a good picture...blurry and she's not even looking! Sadly this was the best of like 50!

11 Month Highlights:

-You are definitely a water baby and love being at the pool! We had several pool days at Mimi's, several at the Leflers, and several right on our deck in your mini pool. Regardless of size, you loved them all!

-You started hardcore teething about a week after your birthday and it's just been relentless! You are getting 4 upper teeth in all at the same time, and your poor gums are inflamed and red! We can't wait for those babies to pop on through! This had made for some very long days, filled with not much more than fussing and cuddling, rocking and pacifiers (which have stayed in your bed for naps and bedtime only since you were about 7 months!). Oh, and some serious sleep regression which of course has also been loads of fun for all of us!

-You spent 3 nights with Mimi and Pops so we could go to the Bahamas for our anniversary. You did great over there and had fun going swimming a few times! The first night you had so much fun you stayed up til almost 9pm, and the second night you went to a party with Mimi and Pops so you went to bed around 8pm. Little lady loving the party life : )

-We celebrated your second 4th of July by going to a food truck and fireworks festival on Friday (July 3rd). The food was good and you enjoyed the pulled pork and a couple bites of mac-n-cheese. We didn't stay long enough to see fireworks b/c you were just too tired and certainly wouldn't have slept through it. Then on Saturday, the Leflers came over and we enjoyed a fun day outside in the small pool and sprinkler!

-You are expanding your vocabulary (or your vocality anyways!) this month. You started saying "Dada" purposefully which of course he just loves! You also love to say "Uh Oh" when you drop stuff, or just because you think it's fun, and "O Le O Le O Le O" which cracks us up!

-You aren't walking yet but you are definitely getting closer and closer! You are a champ at pulling up on things, cruising, and transferring from one table to a chair or another surface using one hand. You also like to let go with both hands to clap or try and grab an object...after about 1-3 seconds you tend to fall on your bottom. But you always clap once you fall like you are so proud that you stood for a few seconds! So cute!

-Speaking of clapping...you LOVE to do it!! You will clap at any chance you get. I don't know if it's because we always say "YAY!!!" and get excited and clap with you or what, but you have a huge grin and love to do it! That being said, you clap one palm on the top of the other hand...or sometimes one palm just on the thumb of the other hand. Either way it's cute!

-You had your 12 month doctor appointment at 12.5 months and pretty much hated every second of it! I don't think starting out the appointment with the nurse poking your toes for blood (for a Hgb check) was the best starting point. After that, every person who came in and wanted to do something just freaked you out. You cried through the weight and length check, you screamed when the doctor was examining you, and oh golly you cried oh so hard and held your breath with your shots (MMR & Pneumococcal). Speaking of shots, 10 days after the MMR you got a lovely red rash from head to toe and a low grade fever, which is relatively common (well for 10% of kids anyways). It didn't seem to bother you, but it bothered daddy quite a bit : )

Sleeping: Well good ole teething has brought with it some sleep regression. That in combination with us being out of town for 3 nights and a few holidays equating to a bit later of bedtimes meant wonky sleep. I felt like there was no semblance of a routine this month and finally we are starting to get back on track. A majority of the days she had a hard time falling asleep, and then would wake up from 1-3am or 2-4 am. Oh lovely nights! Most mornings she wakes up at 6:30, and when she is feeling well will happily and quietly play in her crib til 7:30. But a lot of mornings this month she just feels poopy and wants out right away.

As for naps those were all over the place to, but at least she took them! Most days she still took 2 naps, although about 1/4 of the time she either would just play in her crib during the second nap, or we would be out and she just wouldn't get a second nap. Either way, now we seem to be back to 2 naps, each about an hour and a half. One in the morning usually about 3 hours after she wakes up, and one in the afternoon 2 hours after she wakes from the first.

Oh you know, just taking laps around the crib during second nap!

Breastfeeding: On your birthday, we started the weaning process of breastfeeding. We took out the mid-day feed first, then a week later took out the nighttime feed, and a week after that the morning one. I have to say the whole process was much easier than I had thought it would be, and with the exception of the morning feed, you didn't seem to mind not having it that much. I also think it helped us being gone for 3 mornings right as we weaned the morning feed so you didn't think about it as much (or at least associate seeing me in the morning with it). There was a small part of me that was sad about weaning totally, mostly b/c it just solidifies how fast your first year went. But the other part of me was very glad to be done, especially knowing I will be doing it all over again in 5 months!

Isabella Loves:

-Swimming

-Being outside and taking walks

-Eating good food...this girl gets excited if it's something she likes!

-Swinging

-Cell phones and remote controls

-Musical toys

-Musical and talking books

-Butterflies, Pigaboo, My First Touch and Feel Book, Snuggle Puppy (all books)

-Dancing with Daddy

-Crawling through her tunnels and playing in the tent

-Climbing on top of us...and anything else she can attempt!

Favorite foods this month: Cheese (any kind- buffalo, sharp cheddar,smoked cheddar, mozzarella, muenster, colby jack, it seriously doesn't matter!)! Greek yogurt, chopped chicken, scrambled eggs with spinach, cherries, watermelon. She also loves coconut water.

Isabella Hates:

-Shoes

-Teething!

-Not getting fed fast enough...or being done sooner than she wants!

-Door stops (she has a very irrational fear of them when they make noise!)

-Having her face wiped/cleaned

-Standing on grass barefoot

13 Month Stats:

-Height: 29.5 in

-Weight: 18 lb 7 oz

Isabella's Firsts this Month:

-First true word: Dada