Miranda is a Year Old! 2015

The perfect little Miss Miranda

I'm kind of sad my baby is already a year old. She is the most beautiful, smart, sweet little baby we could ever have hoped for. We love her little raspy laugh, seeing her dance, hearing her say tickle-tickle-tickle, and have her give us "kisses" by smacking her tongue against her lips. Miranda, your dada and I are so in love with you that it's a little ridiculous!

She's in charge of the sticker this month.

Growth- Miranda had her 1-year doctor's appointment yesterday! Her measurements were 31.5 inches tall, and 22 pounds and 8 ounces. She's wearing 12 months pants (or he would if we had any) and 12-18 month and 18 month shirts.  She has 4 adorable teeth that she chews and smiles with.

Cute smile!

Eating- She just came off formula (hurray!) and she can, and does, to eat everything. She loves meat and sweet things, especially.  She feeds herself finger foods and has co-opted her brothers sippy cups for extra water and milk.

Her passion for food mirrors mine.

Sleep- If James doesn't disturb her, Miranda sleeps through the night from 8:00 p.m to 8:00 a.m. (2 more hours than her brother used to sleep at night at this age). She takes two naps a day in her crib, by herself, one 45 minute nap, and one 45-120 minute nap, depending on how much she slept the night before. 

Can you handle the cuteness? I cannot. 

Moving- She's been walking since 10 months, and within a few days she was running and carrying heavy toys with her. She had a little trouble at the park at first because she was still too little to do anything besides eat the wood chips, but she's gotten a little more comfortable with the concept and will run around for a little while before sitting down with Dada to enjoy the sights.

Running at the park

 

Enjoying the swing (sort of)

Language/ Social- She says, "dada," "mama" (though I rarely hear this one lately), "tickle-tickle-tickle," and "go!" She makes kissy noises to communicate love or playfulness, claps and dances when she likes a song, and points to people she knows because she thinks it's funny. She shakes her head no and yes, and when she does the latter she looks like Barbara Eden in a "I Dream of Jeannie." She scribbles on a little etch-a-sketch, and sometimes she steals the milk bottle to "paint" the coffee table.

Chilling with her etch-a-sketch masterpiece

She understands some things. She gets a book at night time when we ask her to. She understands, "no," but chooses to ignore us. Except for this stubborn streak and her HATRED of driving places, she's a pretty easy baby on the whole.

Sweet and innocent...

I would describe her personality as "purposefully mischievous." She thinks it's funny to do little mean things. This aligns pretty well with her father's sense of humor, though his is more witty, and hers is, so far, more slapstick.

Example: Pulling her sleeping brother's ear.

Fairy on the move! Watch out!

• Miranda at 11 Months, March 2014
• James at a Year Old, April 2012

James is a Year Old! 2012

I can't believe it's been a year since James was born! The first thing I said when I first saw James was "He's awesome!" and even though he only stared at us and cried for a few months, over the last year he has really lived up to my original declaration.  There is nothing better than hearing him laugh, seeing him shake his shoulders and break into a run when he's up to no good, or getting a big juicy hug from him. James, if you read this one day, your dad and I love you like crazy!

James, today, at 1 year old!

Growth- James had his 1 year doctor's appointment yesterday! His measurements were 32.5 inches tall (though I think he's actually 31), and 24.4 pounds. He's wearing 12 months pants (or he would if we had any) and 18 month shirts.  He has 7 teeth but the 8th one is starting to show finally.

Wearing his Huntsville shirt in the chair that Sarah painted for him

Eating- He's off formula now and according to his doctor he's allowed to eat anything now.  Nonetheless, we avoid cheese because it seems to disagree with him. He's loves everything else so he's just been getting part of whatever we eat at mealtime plus snacks. He feeds himself finger food but he also demands to hold his own spoon with more disastrous results.

Sadly, he still eats books.

Studying, March 29

Sleep- James is still sleeping through the night from 8:30 p.m to 6:30 a.m. I don't necessarily have to hold him during naps if I let him sleep in our bed and sit there watching him, he's pretty happy for at least half the nap.

Language/ Social- He's not really into saying real words regularly, but he's been babbling up a storm lately He points at stuff to find out the word.  His favorite game is to point at (poke at) my eye until I say, "ojo."

He understands certain things and acts accordingly. If I ask him, "Quieres leche?" he removes his pacifier to drink milk even if there is no milk in sight. He understands, "no," and a bunch of other things though it's hard to tell sometimes if he doesn't understand or chooses to ignore us.

Even though he just turned 1, he's on month 2 of his "terrible twos."  Maybe by the time he's 2 he'll be perfectly well-behaved?

Using his toy screwdriver, April 12

Moving- If he thinks that he's been caught doing something he shouldn't be doing, he jumps up a little, and then he runs away. He does this even though I have caught him every time. Maybe he knows the day he's faster than me is just around the corner.

Up to no good, April 15

Happy birthday, James! We're looking forward to your birthday party next week!

Today at the park for a birthday treat

We set this up on a timer, but the train went by and distracted James