ONE YEAR OLD! Our once tiny baby is now a babbling, mobile, real-food-eating small person.
It's been one crazy year. Lena has already experience more moves in her lifetime than I did in my first 18 years of life. She has been such a sweet blessing in our lives. That's probably the word people use to describe her the most, sweet. I can't think of a better word at this point. This girl is a giver. She always shares her toys, food, and smiles with anyone. Her sister has had a bit of a tough time adjusting to sharing, as she was the sole grandchild on either side for over 2 years. But we never needed to worry as Lena has been so gracious and patient. She is sensitive like her mama too. If mama is crying (even happy laughing tears), she cries too. Ellie always loved to be scared as a baby, she thought it was hilarious. But Lena...not a fan! She gets that from her Daddy. I used to jump out and try to scare him after a shower and he would be so pissed! Haha
This girl may be small....but she can out eat just about any kid her age. Just last night at her birthday dinner she ate an entire grilled cheese sandwich (even the crust!) and half a pickle. Then, she came home and ate two graham crackers. Sometimes it is exhausting to try to keep up with her appetite! But she is definitely growing. She's grown 2 inches from her last doctor appt a couple months ago. Our girls may be tiny, but no one that knows them would ever say they don't eat enough! She is still nursing once in the morning and once before bedtime. Weaning is definitely coming up quick and I have mixed feelings about it. I certainly don't want to rush to end this amazing bond/relationship that I established with blood, sweat, and a lot of tears. But I have many things to look forward to once it's over. Not only will I be able to be away from her for longer periods of time (like sleepovers at the grandparents!), but I can also eat citrus fruit again and get back to taking medications that aren't safe while nursing that I think work better than what I have to take while nursing! Pros and cons to weaning, for sure. But I know I will definitely mourn the passing of this stage of my life with my baby.
Lena still sleeps 10-12 hours a night. We have gotten her bedtime pushed back closer to seven, which is nice because it means more dinners all together and more time with dad in the evenings. She's currently in a stage where she wakes up at 5:30. EVERY.MORNING. Ugh! I remember that Elise went through a similar stage. Just like Lena, though, we tried everything we could possibly think of to fix it and nothing worked but time. Just a stage that has to pass. According to most of my mom friends, its a pretty common thing for this age. I won't miss it when its gone! I have to go to bed early myself to get a full 8 hours (because I am not a nice or productive person when I don't) and I miss having time to myself to catch up on housework, meal planning, or just adult veg out time with my husband. Lena was napping only once a day there for awhile, but she recently came down with another ear infection and another cold virus. So we are back to two naps a day for now. It makes it really difficult to get out and do stuff because I now have three naps to make happen and none of them start at the same time. Takes up quite a big chunk of the day! But soon, they will both be napping at the same time. It won't be long before Lena is at the age where even the one nap isn't totally necessary everyday. Ellie reached that stage pretty early in life, but I am convinced that's because she is a super-human toddler who doesn't (and has never) required the normal recommended amount of sleep for tiny humans. Sometimes that really comes in handy. It's great when we are traveling. It makes me really look forward to things like our first trip to Disney next year.
Lena isn't quite walking yet. She is cruising along furniture and she can even stand solo for as long as ten seconds! We are encouraging her, but certainly not rushing. That's the last piece of baby-hood that she has left in her. She can take her time. We love watching her try and seeing her face when she realizes she's standing on her own. Soon she will be toddling after her sister and Della in the backyard and we will, once again, be scratching our heads, wondering where time has up and gone to.
The first year is always a big adjustment and so many new and exciting milestones that we can barely keep up. Babies grow and change so fast and we've enjoyed every minute of watching Lena in her first 365 days earth side. I know the coming year will be filled with different and exciting milestones. She will master walking and running, eating with utensils, and her vocabulary will increase rapidly.
We both feel like Lena spent the first 8-9 months of her life sitting and watching. She is one observant child. Now that she feels she has a good grasp on this thing called life, her sweet little personality is blossoming. We can't wait to see what she has in store for us for year 2!
We love you Lena Rose! Happy Birthday!
