She's 1!!

On March 9th Alayna turned one year old. I cannot believe how quickly this first year has passed. It seems like just yesterday Derek and I were fumbling around in the dark trying to soothe a crying infant and getting absolutely no sleep. It is amazing how much as changed in the past year.

Alayna had her 1 year check up on Friday, March 11th. She is coming in at 26 in (60%) and 17.6lbs (3%). As you can see she is tall and skinny for her age. The doctor is not too worried since she is very active and eating as much as she is suppose to and has been increasing weight at each visit. We were told now that we can start to introduce whole milk into Alayna's diet an ounce or two at a time to make sure she has outgrown her milk allergy. So far that is going well. She will take 2 oz in her bottle mixed in her formula. We will continue to mix more milk and less formula until it is all milk, but she seems to be handling it very well so far. She was also given the green light to eat pretty much everything and anything, though we are still suppose to stay away from peanut products and shellfish for another year. I will say that now that Alayna can eat off of our plates and what we have for meals her appetite has significantly grown. She is becoming a GREAT eater. She loves chicken, hot dogs, spaghetti, grapes, bananas, peaches, and so much more.

Alayna's motor skills are also developing very well. She is our little climber, wanting to climb up on everything and using other furniture to help her get to the top of chairs and couches. It is fun to watch her try and work out in her head how this is done, pushing the stool to the couch, climbing on the stool and then onto the couch, but my heart has stopped a few times already as I watch her, sure that she is going to fall and crack her head open. The doctor was impressed by these skills saying her motor skills rival that of an 18 month old. I guess we will have to get her into gymnastics sooner than later so she can burn some of this energy off! :-)

Alayna is also talking more and more everyday. She says "mama" and "dada" and "dog" in their right context. We are working on "more" and "milk"which right now sound the same, and "cup." Alayna still points to things when she wants them so we are trying to work on her learning what things are so there is less confusion and frustration. Ah, frustration...which leads to her wonderful tantrums. I have a little diva on my hands. When she gets angry or frustrated she likes to throw fabulous tantrums where she bangs her head on the ground or throws herself backward, which both have caused some nice bumps on the head. The doctor did say that this was perfectly normal, though not fun, and to ignore her when she acts up. So, we are trying that route.

Alayna's sleeping is also going great these days. She goes to bed around 8:30 at night and sleeps through the night. I usually have to wake her up for daycare around 6:45am, but on the weekends we get to sleep until around 7:30am so that has been really nice. (Sidenote...never in my life did I think sleeping till 7:30am would be nice, oh the college days sure are missed.)

Our little girl is growing up and it is so fun to watch, but I am a little nostalgic for the baby days. I will be following up with posts about Alayna's birthday, birthday party and grandparent visit. Until then here are some pictures of our little toddler.