ONE YEAR!!!

12 MONTHS

Weight: About 19 and a half pounds
Length:  About 28 inches... or 28.5 inches. You are too wiggly! *edit - doctor says 29 inches.*
Head: ??? as always
Clothing size: No change since last month, thank you
Eye color: dark brown
Hair: dark brown/black
Nicknames: boocakes, baby boo, babes, Miss Jordan

EAT

I only have one word to describe you when you eat: messy. You've taken to pasta (veggie pasta, since that's the only way I can get you to eat vegetables), raspberries, and goldfish crackers. If only I could stop you from touching your hair while you eat, then cleanup would be much easier.

SLEEP

The infamous night of no sleep included pictures sent to daddy, who was at the fd, with the caption "help me."

Your bedtime is getting later and later... 7 pm... 8 pm... 9 pm. But you still wake up every morning at 7:30. One night, you finally fell asleep at 9, only to wake up at 10:30 and stay up until midnight. I guess you need less sleep now, since you're not growing like 5 inches a day. When you wake up, you are the happiest baby on the planet. The first thing you do is sit up and start waving like crazy, laughing and pointing. Morning Jordan is my favorite Jordan.

LIKES
Not much has changed. You still love your doggy, and when I ask you to grab her collar so she can go outside, you scramble to grab it off the table. You love helping with and petting the doggy! You are still obsessed with your lunchbox toy, and you love going to Gymboree and playing with mommy and your new friends!

Bags. Your plastic doctor bags and mommy's expensive Coach bags. Open, close, open, close. Repeat as necessary. Throw stuff out, put stuff in. Endless entertainment.

Bath time. You have a love/hate relationship with your bath time. Sometimes you love, it, sometimes you can't wait to wiggle out of there. This month, I can't convince you to get out. You splash and play and touch all the wet things in the bathtub yay! You have a new obsession with water and now every time a faucet is on, you point to it and try to get your hands all over it.

Shakers. Anything that makes sound when it shakes - more notably, the container of pushpins, binder clips, and paperclips that are on my desk shelves. I routinely find you under my desk, shaking it around in the air. When they bring the shakers out in Gymboree, you rush to go play with all of them - even if it means grabbing it from someone else! We need on work on sharing.

Tool puzzle. Gift to your brothers from your grandparents for Christmas this year, handed down to you. You play with it probably 20 million times a day.

Bells. For real. You love the sound it makes. When they bring the toy box out in Gymboree, you always go for the same toy - the bells. And you sit there and try to eat them while you watch the other kids play every. single. time.

You and Jingle Bear, watching Miranda outside

Jingle Bear. Maybe because this bear has bells, maybe because it plays Jingle Bells when you press its hand. My mom gave this to me years and year ago for Christmas. I put all the Christmas decorations away but decided I had to keep Jingle Bear out on the bay window for you. Every day, we spend time at that window with Jingle Bear and watch the dog out in the yard. You love it, and it calms you down, especially when you are upset.

Other babies. More specifically, boys. The other girls at Gymboree don't really hold your interest. But sometimes you'll crawl or walk over to another boy to check them out. The other day, you and a little boy kept switching stickers. He gave you his, you gave him yours. You played with them for a little bit, then exchanged again. His mom and I were cracking up. You must have exchanged them 5 or 6 times before I finally said we had to go home. You both went home with each other's stickers. I told your daddy you made a boyfriend. He was not happy.

Baby doll. Early Valentine's Day gift from Grandma. You never really liked dolls before, but this one came with two bottles - and you. are. hooked. If I ask you to go get your baby, you find her and bring her to me so I can give her a bottle. We named her Jessie (mostly because I've been watching New Girl on repeat, and she didn't look like a Jess or Jessica, and the Disney Channel was playing Hey Jessie and tada! A name for baby).



DISLIKES

Getting your hair done. Piggy tails don't happen too often these days, because it takes forever. But your hair is so long that I need to clip it back, and even that is difficult to do with a squirmy baby. I usually have to give you a toy, a pacifier, or even call Miranda in to distract you just so I can make your hair look somewhat presentable. Most of this is a total fail though, because a few hours later your hair is a disaster (read: bananas in the hair, you pulling out your clips, car seat hair, nap hair, etc.).

Getting out of the bath. Yeesh. I have to bribe you with a pacifier and a promise to see the doggy when I get you out.


ACCOMPLISHMENTS

TALKING!!! So this is the BIG accomplishment so far. You don't always talk on command, but you do speak gibberish quite often. You often point to things and talk, like you are really trying to get your point across. Or, you'll be eating in your high chair, and you'll point to me and give me some nonsensical directions on what to feed you. But as of right now, you can really say:

• Grandpa
• Yeah
• Da (doggy)
• Dada (daddy)
• Hi, fish! (the fish next to your high chair at Grandma's)
• I did it! (referencing moving a box, and then another day walking to the couch with a toy in your hands). 
• Good (although I'm not sure if this was intentional or not)
• Mommy (only when you are crying and someone else is holding you)
• Kids (in reference to your cousins)
• Car (as in, let's get in the car and get the kids, Grandma!)

Really walking. You are so proud of yourself - and so am I! Sometimes you're a pro, sometimes you toddle, sometimes you run. Cute all the time.

Fine motor skills. You are really starting to use your fingers to do things - open and close toys, push button, lift things like light switches, etc. The other day I tried to give you a pink marker and you weren't interested, though. Oh, well, maybe next time!

Understanding practically everything. Seriously, all of a sudden I can tell you do to things like sit or stand or get things like get the baby or get the pink ball, and you know what I'm talking about. If the phone rings, you say "dada" because you know its him. You know how to help get dressed, how to help fold laundry (kinda), and all kinds of other things that are blowing my mind.


DEAR JORDAN

Dear boocakes.

I've been dreaming about this day since I found out I was pregnant with you. Your very first birthday. When I was pregnant with you, I started planning out your birthday party down to the very last detail - decorations, cake, invitations, and where it would be. I had a theme all picked out - Winter ONEderland, but it would only work if you were born in February (you were due March 5th, so I was secretly hoping you'd be 5 days early). I dreamed that we could have the party at home, so that I could always have those precious memories in a place that was so dear to us. I can't believe we now actually own a home that is large enough to fit all these people coming to your party. Well... it'll be crowded, but that's okay :)

You are the joy of my life. Every morning, when you wake up, roll over, and find me, you get the biggest smile on your face. I love starting the day like that. I love that every night, I can hold you in my arms and say bedtime prayers and kiss your little cheeks. I love that you give kisses to me randomly and still reach for your mama no matter who is holding you. You are my very best friend, the reason I am here on this earth, the biggest love of my life. And I cannot believe you are one.

I mean, really, you are only one day older than you were yesterday when you weren't one. But still... one. No longer a baby. A toddler is in my house. Walking. Talking. Giving me as much attitude as love. You will never really realize how fast time flies until your baby turns one. I've been told that I'll blink and you'll be getting married. I believe that. So I'm trying really hard not to blink.

I've been trying really hard to document your life so that I don't forget anything. Your first year scrapbook is so long I had to make it into four scrapbooks - about 500 pages in total. I blog here every month, religiously on the 12th. I have spent hundreds of dollars on professional pictures. At the same time, I try to sit back and enjoy our time together without the camera and soak everything in. Yet, I find myself looking at old pictures and wondering where the time has gone, or trying to remember the exact moment I took that picture. I try to remember holding my newborn, or putting my 3 month old to sleep, or seeing you crawl for the first time. I remember them so vividly but at the same time, those moments seem so far away,

I hope that through everything in your life - your first day of kindergarten, your first day of high school, your college graduation, your wedding day, the day you become a mother yourself - I hope that you know how much your daddy and I love you. It is unconditional and real and never ending. I hope that you can always come to us when you need to talk or when you need something. Every day I realize that you will need me less and less, but I will always need you to need me. So ask me for help every once in awhile when you grow up, okay? You will always be one in my eyes.

Embrace everything that life throws at you. And don't forget to throw a hug in for mom, too.

I love you, I love you, I love you,
Mommy

MONTHLY PHOTO DUMP

First REAL haircut!

Shopping after haircut - you loved it and followed mommy everywhere!

Superbowl!

...football wears you out, but you did win on the Broncos!

Same basket you were in as a newborn and at 6 months

Family photoshoot - you had a blast!

Tutu cutie