One Year Old

Today is Kate's first birthday!

We're kicking off Katestravaganza (a multi-day birthday extravaganza a la Jesstravaganza) with a regularly-scheduled Daddy-Daughter Day while Mommy goes to work, then we'll go out for Kate's first taste of ice cream tonight (well, the first one where she gets her own serving, at least ;0) I'm taking the day off work tomorrow--we have Kate's one-year checkup in the morning, and since we usually end up sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, I would be missing half the day anyway. Then there's a little event at Kate's day care--not related to her birthday, but parents were invited to stay and eat lunch with their children, so we'll take a little cookie cake to that and she can celebrate with her new friends. Then I'll spend the rest of the day getting ready for Kate's party on Saturday!

Also thanks to that baby journal I mentioned, I have a good list of when Kate hit what milestone this year. So here's a little rundown of when she did what this year!



1 week old: ate 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours

2 weeks old: first trips to Brentwood, church, Starbucks, and a sports bar

5 weeks old: first trip to Louisville

6 weeks old: first smile

7 weeks old: sleeping 7+ hours at night

8 weeks old: “so active” (compared to just lying there!) waving arms, kicking ball hanging from play gym, scooting backwards, crab-walk style.

11 weeks old: moved up to size 1 diapers, ate 5 oz every 3-4 hours

3 months old: was baptized, met her aunt and uncle for the first time, I went back to work. Sleeps 10 ½--11 hours at night.

4 months old: rolled over, ate 7 oz 4-5 times a day (worked perfectly with my five-a-day pumping schedule!)

5 months old: started blowing raspberries, started day care 3 days a week. Moved up to size 1-2 diapers. Ate 8 oz 5 times a day.

6 months old: started solids (whole wheat cereal), creeping, and sitting up!

7 months old: pulled up to a stand and started cruising within days after that! Started eating finger foods. She was a cruising expert by the time she actually learned to crawl closer to 8 months!

8 months old: started walking behind push-cart, got the swine flu. Started wearing shoes regularly.

9 months old: first steps!! Learned to wave and clap, and started preferring to feed herself her bottle.

10 months old: learned to climb stairs at grandparents’ houses (we don’t have any) and to say “mama,” though she doesn’t connect it with me yet. Also says “baba”—might connect it with her bottle. Only wants finger foods, no pureed baby foods.

11 months old: Started in the toddler room at a new day care. She had been taking a nice 2-hour morning nap and 2-hour afternoon nap, but now just gets one 1-hour nap on school days!

And now at one year old:
- She loves to climb—up onto the hearth or tables at school (12” off the ground).
- We’re working on the sippy cup, and she’s practiced some with a regular cup, fork, and spoon.
- She’s learning to blow kisses—yay!
- She says "baba" and "mama" and they are tenuously related to her bottle and me, but not
- She wears a size 3 diaper and a mix of 6-12 month and 12-18 month size clothing. I think she weighs about 21 pounds, but we'll find out at her doctor appointment tomorrow.
- She eats pretty much whatever we eat, and drinks a little whole milk at school. Her main liquid is still breastmilk, and in fact (sniff!) I am pumping for the very last time (for Kate, at least) as I type. I weaned down to 2x a day around Christmas and just 1x a day a few days ago, so I don't anticipate any engorgement or other problems. It's been a smooth transition, and I'm so thankful for the experience of making milk for Kate this year.

Happy birthday, Boo! I love you and am SOOOOO excited about celebrating your birthday!