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

Home Sweet Home

Quick update... we finally closed on our forever home!

It was a crazy process. We put in an offer on a 95% completed short sale right before Thanksgiving- we happened to be the THIRD buyers on this house. Our bank would not proceed until we got the all clear as the new buyers from the seller's bank. Seller's bank took awhile, but we finally got approved shortly after Christmas. Seller's bank says we must close no later than January 28th, when the short sale approval expired.

And then our bank wouldn't give us a closing date. So we waited. And waited. And then on January 22nd, the proposed closing date, our bank gives us the clear to close. But they say we can close no earlier than January 29th.

So starts the bank wars.

Not really. But seller's bank was ready to drop the deal if we didn't close by the 28th. TRID guidelines (whatever that is) state that we need a certain amount of time after clear to close to actually close, and the 28th is too early. Back and forth, back and forth. Tim and I started to line up other houses to see because we were pretty sure we were going to lose this house. Our bank had until January 26th to let us know if this deal was actually going to happen. And on January 26th, sometime in the afternoon, we finally got the all clear to close on the 28th, at 3 pm, which was basically the LAST AND FINAL HOUR that the seller's bank would allow us to close without terminating the deal.

Sound boring? I mean, yeah, bank shit is boring. But we were on the edge of our seats for weeks.

Blah blah though, happy ending. We were originally just going to paint, replace the carpet, and refinish the hardwood in the house and then just move right on in. And then because my husband is, well, my husband, he walks through the house after closing and decides he is also going to remodel two of the four bathrooms, replace banisters going to the basement and upstairs (which he has never done before, oddly enough), etc. etc. before we move in. And our target move in date is the 13th, because I've already sent Jordan's birthday invitations out for the 20th - and her party is AT HOME. We are in way over our heads.

Tim also eventually wants to add a third car garage and a 600-700 square foot addition over the garage, making it our huge master suite. I mean, who am I to stop him? I love me some vaulted ceilings and he's promised to make me the bathroom of my dreams. That will make our house a 6 bedroom, 5 bathroom house and I'm trying to think of how to keep up with the housework. But man, am I excited! I'm trying to think of ideas on how to incorporate the boys into the house (pictures, of course, but anything else would be great - especially things we can look at and know its for them, without it being obvious).

Surgery is scheduled for Monday. I'm oddly looking forward to it, because they said that they'll knock me out and I should get a good nap out of it. I need one.

FET is scheduled for February 23rd.

It's going to be an amazing year.

Our first fire at the house, right after closing (complete with a large pizza and 17 samples of paint to throw on the walls)

11 months - WHERE DID MY BABY GO?

11 MONTHS

Weight: 18.6 pounds
Length:  My measurements were wrong. Definitely says you lost height, so I give up and am waiting until your 12 month appointment!
Head: TBD at your next pediatrician appointment - I suck at trying to measure this, too. Bad mommy!
Clothing size: 12 month everything, except leggings which run small anyway - those are 18 months.
Eye color: Brown
Hair: Someday, someone will acknowledge that I was right when I predicted that your hair would lighten up. It is, especially when daylight hits it.
Nicknames: "Girlfriend" and "babes."  Although, you might think your name is "no touch!" Seriously, stay away from outlets and the oven.

EAT

Bananas and blueberries are your faves - although neither are as great as CHEESE. I would complain but I'm just thankful you aren't lactose intolerant like the rest of your dad's family. Chicken, turkey, bread, berries, broccoli, cheerios, and basically anything you can eat with no teeth is what is on the menu for the day. You still will not let me spoon feed you, so meal time is ultra-messy and very slow. Miss Independent, anybody?

SLEEP
Welp. I knew we had it too good. You turned ten months old and turned your 7 pm bedtime into 8 pm. Not a big deal - it actually works out because then your daddy gets to spend more time with you when he gets home. He loves it. But now you are constantly getting up to party in the middle of the night and omg you won't stop sticking your fingers in your daddy's ear and crawling on his face and trying to give me your wubby because hey, you don't need it because you are wide awake and mommy let's play and hey look at this book and what do you mean it's 2 am and no sleep no sleep no sleep okay let's go back to sleep. The thing is, we don't know when this one to two hour party of yours will hit. 11 pm? 2 am? 4 am? I think maybe it is because you are teething, but I can't be sure. Either way, I am looking forward to you sleeping 12 uninterrupted hours again.

LIKES

Paper. Which you played with all of Christmas Eve. You don't even rip it - you just play.

Picnic basket. Put things in, take things out. Repeat as necessary.

Gymboree. Obviously climbing over everything is the best, and watching the other babies is the second best.
Dump truck. Ponies in a dump truck, ponies dumped. Repeat as necessary.
Helping with doggy. Every time I ask if you want to let the doggy outside with mommy, you crawl as fast as you can into my lap, I carry you to the door and put you on the floor, and you sit patiently as you watch me get Miranda ready to go outside. Sometimes you wave to her, and then you go back to play. If I'm doing anything else with her - like grooming her - you watch in complete fascination. You love that dog. God help the person that comes between a girl and her dog.
Makeup. I sit on the floor next to your toys while I get ready for the day so I can watch you while you play. But instead of playing, you sit on the floor and go through my makeup bag. Same items every morning, and still totally entertained. You especially love watching me curl my eyelashes and put on mascara, which prompts you to stand up and try to help me do it. Totally a mommy's girl.

DISLIKES
Crib. Pack and play. Basically baby cages. You play in your crib while I take the world's fastest shower in the morning, but not without your wubby. The pack and play? Forget it. It's crammed with new toys from Christmas and you still won't let us put you down in it. You point to the toys from the other side of the mesh, but the minute you think I'm putting you in there, your cling to me and scream. Not sure what that is about, since you used to play in there all the time while your dad and I ate dinner.
Veggies. And here I was, telling everyone that would listen, including your pediatrician, how much you liked veggies and even preferred them over fruit. Boy did that change. If you see anything even remotely green on your high chair tray, you push it away. The books say that you are too young to have aversions to certain foods. They are liars.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Christmas Eve morning, and you started pointing to everything. 

Pointing. To everything. I mean seriously, to objects and colors and pictures and totally blank spaces. To objects in the book you hold upside down. To me when I'm holding you. To things on the ceiling. Sometimes to things you want. Sometimes to invisible things. You are obsessed. The first time we realized you were pointing on your own was on Christmas Eve morning, while you were sitting in bed with your daddy and he was reading a book to you. You kept pointing to the random things on each page, and while I was working at my desk your daddy got my attention to watch you go. Look, I know this isn't like a huge milestone, but I was (am) really, really proud.
Standing on your own. And you smile the whole time.
Step and a leap. That's about as far as you can walk unassisted. Step once, maybe twice, maybe three times, and jump/leap/fall into someone's arms. As Anna from Frozen would say, "it's like a crazy trust exercise."

Waving two different ways. Months ago, I tried showing you how to wave your arms to greet someone or say goodbye because I thought it would be easier than opening and closing your hands to wave. But you went straight into opening and closing your hands. I haven't showed you how to wave with your arms since. And then, one day, you just started waving with your arms like crazy - and now you do it when people are not paying attention to you. You wave to people as if to say, "HEY!!! I'M OVER HERE!!!"
Baby sign language. I can't really take credit for this one - your grandma has taught you a few things while she babysits you. Thankfully you don't use it around me because I have no idea what anything means.
Understanding commands. Especially when I ask you to give me your wubby. You usually put a hand on it, give it two or three last sucks, and hand it to me or throw it on the floor (close enough).
Two teeth. Ok, this isn't really an accomplishment, but more like something that happened to you. At Christmas, we were talking about how you were going to be well beyond one year old when you finally got teeth. And then a few days later I noticed drool, a slight fever, and a baby who did not want to be put down. And although I couldn't see it, I could feel a tooth coming up. Then a couple days later, I could feel two. You are officially not a baby anymore (okay, yes you are, but wah - you are getting so big!).
Knowing your colors! From around the time you turned 3 months old, we go through you colors every day with your stackers. You love it - you sit patiently and wait for me to go through all ten colors on your toy. And I think it's starting to pay off. On New Year's Day, we were at your grandma's and we were playing with linkable toys. I asked you to show me which one the blue one was, and you grabbed it. I asked you which one was red, and you pointed to it. You haven't gotten those colors wrong since - now we just need to teach you other colors!

DEAR JORDAN

Dear boocakes,

Something happened this last month that I've been dreaming of since I was pregnant with you - your first Christmas. And, because this year was one of those rare years that your dad had both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off, we got to celebrate twice - once with my family, once with your dad's. The very first gift you opened on Christmas Eve was from Conner and Ben, and you helped rip it open with surprising talent. But from there on out, you basically played with paper while your dad or myself opened your gifts. While you were surrounded by a mountain of toys at my parent's house, you played with one piece of glitter tissue paper the whole time. You didn't eat dinner (even though I tried to feed you for hours) and played with, well, basically trash on the floor or walked around with the assistance of willing grandparents. You went to bed late and slept in your pack and play, under the watchful eye of my parents, while your dad and I went out to celebrate 8 years together (our de-facto dating anniversary). We crammed the car with so much stuff that we didn't have a single spot to bring home leftover food, which is basically a crime in a Filipino family. Kind of what I had in mind, kind of not. I must have been delirious when I thought you, a 10 month old, would unwrap each gift and swoon at each toy (in it's box, might I add). But it was perfect - I mean, even though I worried myself sick at your empty stomach and late bedtime, you had the time of your life. So much fun that you couldn't be bothered with food or sleep. You didn't want to miss a single second of your first Christmas experience (aka, the loads of wrapping paper, tissue paper, and walking laps around the house).

Christmas Day was more or less the same thing. We started off with gifts at home, church, and then off to your grandma's house. This time I had to literally run after you to unwrap each of your gifts, which you paid no attention to because you wanted to explore instead. You played with your cousins' new toys instead of yours, ate some food (thank God), and took a short nap. No obsession with paper this time. But your outfit was on-point (and your vest was also size 24 months. Um?). You went to bed exhausted and your dad and I put together each one of your toys that night. It took hours, multiple garbage bags filled with empty toy boxes, me breaking in my new screwdriver set, and an enormous amount of patience to put them all together/take them out of their packaging. You are so loved by each person who gave you each gift (read: spoiled).

You know how I know I'm a mom? Your dad and I were invited out to a party on New Year's Eve and we both looked at each other and knew we were staying in. We put you to bed, ate some buffalo wings, had some real adult conversation that we rarely get these days, and snuggled up with you until we finally threw in the towel around 11:30 pm. And it was perfect. The last thing I did in 2015 was kiss you on your forehead as you were sleeping. I told you that you were the best thing to happen to 2015. But really, you are the best thing to happen to me every day.

Love,
Mom

MONTHLY PHOTODUMP

Are you sure I'm 11 months?

Seriously?

Christmas tree picking

You can run around the coffee table, waving the remote in your hand, for hours (not really, but it seems like it!)

#messyhairdontcare

Lights at the zoo, New Year's Eve

Bundled up - multiple blankets, elf pj boots, fleece pants, long sleeves, winter jacket, and of course - leopard hat.

Picking out birthday books for your brothers

Spoiled much? And this was just one day. From us. We celebrated Christmas twice with two different families! 

From Conner and Ben - your first Christmas gift on Christmas Eve. 

All you would play with. 

Christmas morning

Christmas Day outfit - on point. 

FD hockey game

And last but not least - what you do when you are mad - fling yourself backwards! Love your dad's face here!