Janie Elizabeth
HEIGHT: 30 inches
WEIGHT: 20 pounds, 13 ounces
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
In the last month...
Drinks 4 bottles of soy formula We have made valid attempts to get Janie off of her bottle and drinking from a sippy cup full time. She is currently drinking soy formula still but we are going to try to switch her to milk and see how her tummy reacts to it. Hopefully she has grown out of her intolerance to cow's milk and will be able to eat yummy milk, cheese, & yogurt! Time will tell in this next week...
Eats three meals plus snacks of table foods Janie has done a great job with eating on her own. She wants whatever everyone else has and will literally leap across the table to get it if you do not give her some when she asks you the first time. It's kind of an amazing talent to be able to reach all the way across the table when your arms are as small as hers. Her food is becoming the main source of her dietary needs so she has been eating a lot more of it. When we cut back on the drink with the switch from formula to milk she should eat even more which kind of scares me. Janie can eat half of a banana and five strawberries and still want more food. The girl eats.
Takes 2 naps a day For the most part, we've cut down to one nap. I kind of hate it but it is liberating to an extent so I guess there is good in that. Plus, we can time the girls to nap at the same time so that helps out a lot and makes it pretty quiet around the house on the weekends for a couple of hours. When Nora was a baby she needed her sleep. Her "tell" was (and still is...) that she would get whiney and easily frustrated. She would get very, very needy. Janie's "tell" is that she rubs her head and sucks her thumb. We learned through experience ("Oh! She's tired. I'll feed her lunch and then put her down for a nap...") that when you feed her she gets this second wind of sorts. Feed her and she's good for awhile. But, unfortunately that means she does not really need a second nap. And she most of the time will not go down for a second nap anymore if you tried so it seems a better plan to get the one nap of the day scheduled for the same time and just enjoy those couple of hours. And I have not had nearly the fun experience that I did with Nora and her hair, but Janie has some pretty incredible bed head sometimes - even when she hasn't been sleeping!
BEFORE bedtime... Look at that tuft in back!
Sucks her thumb & rubs her head This is her thing! I wish I could get her to do something else to soothe herself but this is it for now. She has had a terribly chapped face over the last month or so that comes and goes but sucking on her thumb is not helping her out in the least. And she drools. I wonder if/when she will grow out of this habit... Dr. B. says that there is nothing really to do now and that trying to stop her may actually make it worse by drawing attention to it.
Prefers crawling Janie has really shown a heightened interest in walking these days. Of course she would rather have crawled all over the waiting room floor at the doctor's office today, but for the most part she does actually like to walk. When she is in a hurry, she crawls though. One of her favorite games these days is "chase". She crawls away and then looks back as if to say, "Come and get me!" Then, giggles as you grab her. Repeat and repeat and repeat.
Can take a few steps Her walking has gotten pretty steady though she does fall down often. At first, Janie loved walking a few steps towards a person (preferably me LOL) but now she will just stand up and take off to anywhere. A few weeks ago when she would fall over, she would just switch to crawling but now she will stand back up and try walking again, about half of the time. She will be walking on her own all over the place in no time...
Moves between furniture Janie is a professional furniture creeper. She moves between furniture, under furniture, and around furniture. She does not go over it yet - thank goodness!! I also learned over the holiday break that Janie can very skillfully climb stairs. She has to be watched carefully as suddenly sitting on a stair while climbing can be quite dangerous.
Moving around at Mimi's house on the bathtub!
Stands alone Janie is great at standing and will even play standing without holding onto anything by herself these days.
Has 6 teeth There's a seventh tooth creeping in! I can see it on the bottom. I bet there's an eighth on it's way too...
Talks in baby babble with ma's, da's, and ga's Janie loves to tell stories. She mostly babbles but has started using a couple of words, too. She will say up ("buh") and "hi" and "bye" and then I'm also pretty sure she says the word "no." Of course!
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
Sings I have not seen more evidence of singing though Janie loves her music! She loves dancing (bouncing)!
Signs "all done" and "more" Janie can also sign "up" which comes along with the word and we saw her sign "please" tonight at dinner, after being prompted. I know they've worked on that sign at school so I wonder what else she might possibly know... We are still working on "eat" and "milk" and "help" but haven't seen her use them yet. She signs "more" when she wants to eat. I think Nora did that, too. At least I know what she means!
Plays Peek-A-Boo Peek-a-boo is still a favorite game. That, and the chase game I mentioned earlier. Otherwise, Janie loves her musical toys and bath time. She likes to watch and interrupt anything that Nora is doing. And walking. Those are her favorite activities!
Gives hugs & blows kisses Janie is the absolute sweetest. She will just lay down on you, resting her head on you, and give hugs. She does it to Ford even! It is so sweet. She also randomly blows kisses, but not as often as her hugs. What a doll! Janie is also the best snuggler ever. I love putting her to sleep because I know that she will just cozy right in and snuggle with me. It's the best! One night, over the holidays, I even got to share the bed with her!
Snuggling with Mimi!
Loves her mommy I love my mama's girl. It can be exhausting though. I can't disappear to do laundry. Or get my coffee from the kitchen. Or go to the bathroom without a scream from someone in the house. It's bittersweet... but mostly sweet.
Janie and mommy
Loves & follows her big sister Nora There haven't been as many throw downs as there were the last month over toys and such. I think this is partly because Nora has learned what to do when Janie gets in her business, partly because Janie has begun to be disciplined a little bit about things she can and cannot do, and partly because there are so many new and fun things to do that both of the girls can find something else to do and play with if they do not want to share. Mostly the girls love each other and it is the sweetest.
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
At one year (plus a little more) Janie is...
Drinks soy formula from a sippy cup four times a day
Eats three meals plus snacks of table foods
Does not eat dairy products
Takes 1 nap a day
Sucks her thumb & rubs her head
Crawls and walks to move around
Has 6 1/2 teeth
Can say a few words, like "up," "hi," and "bye"
Waves
Loves music & dancing
Signs "all done" and "more" and "please"
Plays Peek-A-Boo and Chase
Is a great snuggler
Loves her mommy/Separation Anxiety
Has learned what "no" means
I love this girl so much!! Happy One Year to you, Janie!
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
Photo by Leslie Eure Photography
