When They Say It Goes Fast, That's An Understatement...

Looking at the pictures from Devyn's first birthday party, I began to notice how much she's changed these last few months. She looks less like a baby and more like a little girl. If she wasn't still bald for the most part she probably wouldn't look like a baby at all. She's talking more and more every day, mastering her environment, eating grown up food and even taking her first steps. I'm amazed by her and how wonderful and trying this past year has been. Physically she's slimmer and much taller, even though she was never a chubby baby which was something that caused me to worry quite a bit throughout her babyhood (I can't believe it's past tense) and even presently. At this point I can blame it on her activity level. She's always been a very active baby. We had to swaddle her until she was almost six months old because of her restless sleeping. She would wake herself up all night long because of her flailing arms. She woke me up a few times because her flailing arms were slapping me in the face. Sleep positioners are supposed to be unsafe but for us the benefits outweighed the risks. I remember one night, rolling over and peeking a sleepy eye in on her in her pack and play pulled up to the side of my bed. My eyes shot open because she wasn't there! Instead of peacefully sleeping in the spot where I left her she was at the foot of the crib, in the dreaded tummy down position. To make matters worse she was swaddled! That's pretty much as dangerous as it gets for a newborn. She was living on the edge. The sleep positioner was the only way to keep her arms in control and to keep her from rolling away. She still sleeps restlessly, most of the time waking one of us with a foot to the neck or a swift kick in the gut. Her naps have shortened to one half hour nap once a day on most days to maybe a 20-30 minute nap twice a day. Every now and then she sleeps for an hour. Those naps would be heaven if I didn't start to panic that she was abducted by aliens or that something else just as awful had happened to her. I thought that her increased mobility would exhaust her a little more but that hasn't happened yet. She's active and is into everything and if you get in the way you had better watch your back. I interrupted her plot to tear up the bathroom this afternoon and placed her outside the bathroom door. She promptly took it out on a bag of mega blocks that was sitting there. Her personality is beginning to emerge and it's so subtle that I'm almost missing it. I realized that her favorite food is cheese because when I hold up a piece she says "Ch-th?" with a big smile and devours it. She says quite a few words but that is the only food that she labels. She knows what her "bap" (bath) is and goes to the bathroom when you ask her is she wants to take one. She talks about "dadat" all the time and although I thought she wasn't labeling me for months she was, I just didn't realize that "bob" (now "bobop") means mom or mama. She points to the "yight" when you turn it on, she points out the "dats" (cats) when she sees them and makes sure to say "yiiiice" when she pets them (although its more like she's smacking them in the face). She really does love them even when shes trying to mow over them with her little ride on car (which she just walks behind and pushes into everything and presses the buttons so we hear the music over and over...). She's starting to label her toys. She has her "baby" and her "behh ahh" (bear). She's changing so fast at this point that my head is spinning. She can get around better than any of us, that's for sure. She climbs over things, crawls under things, squeezes through things. I've lost her twice around the house already. She can walk but prefers to crawl because she hasn't mastered walking yet. Crawling is fast. If she hears something in another room she can be there before you even realize she's gone. I can't even imagine how things would be if she was only walking (most likely running). She has truly changed our lives this past year in a wonderful way. Not only has she intensified my marriage but she has brought the whole family closer together. I miss my tiny baby that's for sure but I'm also excited to see what this next year will bring.