Birthday girl. One Years Old.

These pictures are all from her birthday party, but I'm also going to use them to just remember the little things about her. Let's begin (since there are A LOT).

Josie is about 21 lbs without her clothes on. We had gone to the doctor a couple of weeks earlier and she was 22.2, but she was also fully dressed so I'm not too concerned that she's lost weight. That puts her in 50% range for weight. Her height is 30 inches which is in the 75% range. Her head circumference was also in the 75% range. So our girl is tall and lean so far, just like her daddy. I wonder if she'll always be tall like I was until everyone catches up, or if she'll just be tall in general and most people won't catch up. 

I always wanted to be 5'8" (weird I know) so maybe my dreams will come true through this girl! Ha. I'm currently 5'6". 

We've gone all over the place with the foods she is eating. When she first started eating solid foods, she would eat anything we put in front of her, but things have changed! She doesn't eat hardly any veggies. Part of the problem is that they are all a lot harder to chew and she doesn't have the teeth to do it. Fruits are softer and sweet so she always prefers them. 

I am working on  not forcing her to eat things she doesn't like. I know she still won't eat it and we'll just get into "fights" about it, but I also want her to be getting the right nutrition. I sneak spinach into smoothies and other veggies into casseroles and meals like that, but she is always offered at least one veggie a meal... I have hope that it isn't long term! 

She loves most meats and will eat any bread and fruit. Generally she isn't picky; it's just the veggies that have her turning her nose up.

She's officially done with formula and is drinking whole milk like a champ. I had tried it a couple of weeks before her 1st birthday and she didn't like it at all so I backed off. Now she drinks it like it's candy and is a little sad when she gets water. We're still not doing juice or other types of beverages for nutritional reasons. I want her being hydrated without adding in the sugar and sweet tastes. I have seen so many kids that won't drink water or milk because it's "boring"... just trying to avoid that! I know she gets juice at Grandma's which I feel like is a special treat for her when she's there. I'm ok with that. 

She's been walking around for months now, but she's really mastered it lately and has sped up quite a bit. She's no longer stomping around and she speed walks eagerly when she's excited. I wouldn't say running quite yet, but the girl can move fast! She's keeping me on  my toes. 

I've noticed that she's lost all of her baby fat rolls and looks like a toddler now instead. I think it would be really hard for me to transition in my mind to toddler instead of baby, but it's not too bad since we're having another baby. 

Right after her first birthday, we did the inconceivable. We stopped using the pacifier. THIS IS BIG! I was more terrified than she was because I just imagined her being so angry about it, but honestly it wasn't that bad. One bad night of crying it out (works for us like a charm) and she was done. I'm only a bit worried about long car rides, but seriously she's just come so far with entertaining herself and finding new comforts (dolls, stuffed animals) that she should be fine.

Speaking of dolls, this girl has a new love for them! She got a couple for her birthday (thank you aunties) and carries them both around "rocking" them like Grandma taught her. It's great training for the baby coming! She also likes a stuffed pink puppy she's had since she was born and she usually sleeps with it at night. I'm fine with that. I figure having those comforts will help her transition to her toddler bed in a couple of months when the crib stays in her room for the new baby.  

Her hair has become big girl hair. I can braid it, stick most of it in a ponytail or pigtails, and it lays like a 3 or 4 year old's hair would lay. It's got the same texture as mine but the color is one of a kind. I love it, and it makes her blue eyes just pop.

Right around her first birthday she had her two upper front teeth break through (finally). We've been waiting and watching for these two for months and she is finally getting them! I can't wait to see how they change her smile and if it is easier for her to eat since they are in the front and not in the back where she chews with her gums.

Every day it seems like she is learning more and more. She has stopped wandering from random thing to thing and now sees what she wants and goes straight for it. It has helped me keep our house together a little bit and I don't have to worry about the problem areas that used to always be attacked by baby hands. 

She still loves books and reading and now brings them to me to read at least once every 5 minutes. I try to read them to her as much as I can, but I have also started to say things like "Mommy's eating honey, not right now" so she knows that I can't always  do exactly what she wants. I still do it a lot of the time, so I am not feeling like I am neglecting her at all. 

She has even started to say something that sounds like and probably means "read book!" I wish I could type out what it sounds like but it's just too random to really understand. I know what she means though!

Speaking of words, this is what she can say as of now:

Mama, Daddy, Boppa, wow, hi, Buckley, books, what's that (for everything, it's so funny)

She also repeats what we say all the time, but she hasn't said any of those words on her own so I'm not counting them.

She's wearing 12 month clothes and I've slipped in a couple of 18 month clothes to get use out of them before their season is up. They are generally too big though. 

I can already tell that some of them are just too short for her. She will be moving up in size only for length which means most of them will be too big everywhere else. 

Josie is not afraid of people. She rarely gets shy and loves waving at everyone. She makes everyone that meets her feel like they are best in the world, and I absolutely love it. The way to win her over is to give or read her a book. She couldn't be happier sitting on your lap reading a book. It's so cute.

It's so strange thinking of her being the big sister, yet I can totally see it when she interacts with other babies younger than her (I'm looking at you, cousin Deano). She is generally pretty gentle and curious, but I can already seeing her trying to share her toys and "help mom". She's just got such a sweet heart.

This girl is so fun to be with all day long. I never get sick of being around her and we just have a great time together! Helping her learn and watching her discover new things brings joy to my life that I've never experienced before! 

Can't wait to see what kind of beautiful woman she becomes. I know she's going to be something else.

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