10 -12 Month Milestones (10-14 months really)

Well, I have been a little slow on updating her milestones lately.  I have been working on being on the computer less and getting more of my chores done when she is napping.   On the other hand I have been enjoying every minute with my daughter and do my best to not use electronics when she is up.  I don't want to be engrossed in another virtual world and miss my blessing right now.  I also don't want her to resent me for not spending any time with her...  I want her to know she is a priority.  I want to be on top of watching her every move, so that disciplining will be less of a struggle because I didn't catch her the first time.  I have been enjoying these days of communicating and teaching and playing together.  This is what I dreamed motherhood would be like!  Though I didn't know how hard it was to get anything done... =P  Then at night, I am just tired and don't have any motivation left to type. =)

I will try to for both my and my readers' sake put everything in bullets and keep the wordiness to a minimum.  I love watching kids go through stages and growing and learning.  I don't know why it continues to amaze me how quickly they pick up things, they are "humans after all" my husband says...  Here is my attempt at remember a few things from the last four months:

• Right at 10 months (beginning of May) Sydney started walking towards things without realizing I wasn't holding her hand.  She had been walking a few steps between Mommy and Daddy for a few weeks (a favorite game of hers).  Then on May 9th she got the hang of it and starting making it across the room.  The excitement in her face was so fun to watch.  She hasn't slowed down since...
• Sydney has really found a love for reading and looking at books.  I encourage this greatly.
• She has a LOVE for any toy that talks or plays music.  It is so cute to watch her "dance" and bop and swing to the music.  She now points to the radio in the kitchen and asks for me to turn it on so we can dance together.
• Around 11 months she starting teething her first two maxillary molars.  These teeth were definitely a lot more noticeable coming in with the drooling and hands/toys constantly in her mouth.  She had a few nights of night waking and wanting to snuggle with me (not normal).  She would also skips naps because I think that if she kept playing in her bed she wouldn't notice the discomfort.  I had her wearing her amber necklace a lot which seemed to help a good bit...but I don't like for her to wear it to bed at night (since I have been using an adult sized one doubled up that I got for a discount). =(
• At 12 1/2 months her mandibular first molars have started to come through.  She has been tolerating those a little better.  Currently 12 of her teeth are now fully erupted.
• Her 12 month check up went well.  She remains to be in the 75th percentile for weight (22 lbs. 6oz.)  and 95th percentile for height (31 1/4 inches).  Her head was also in the 75th percentile.
• She has been wearing 18 month clothes for a while now.  She wears a size 4 diaper when needed, but we are still loving cloth diapers.  She started out the summer in May in a size 2 shoe.  I thought her feet would never grow!  Then she jumped to a size 3 after a month.  A week ago she now wears a size 4 shoe.  Thankfully I had some shoe deals stored up!  Now her foot seems to match her size and age more accurately.  
• Also she is obsessed with shoes!  I believe it is because they mean to her that she gets to go outside.  She will bring them to me and sit down and grunt (?) for me to put them on her.  It is not uncommon to find her walking around the house in one shoe...
• Around 11 months she started skipping her afternoon nap.  Everything I read said she should nap  twice a day until 18 months... She seemed to need that 2nd nap with her fussiness in the afternoon, but she refused to sleep.  At 12 months she officially stopped napping every afternoon and was able to happily stay awake past 10:30 am so that I could push her morning nap later to make up for the no sleep gap.  Currently (@ 13 months) she does well staying up until after lunch and going to sleep around noon.  I guess the reason she can nap only once a day is because she recently started sleeping for 2 1/2 hours instead of 1 1/2 hours.
• Sometimes I felt like I was such a crazy mom putting her to bed in the afternoon knowing she wasn't going to sleep, but it made such a difference in her mood I decided her "rest" time was essential. =P  But my girl has alway pushed the "normal sleep" boundaries for her age since day one...
• Her communication has just blossomed in the last few months.  I am loving every minute of it!  She continues to love her sig.ning time videos and is adding signs weekly sometimes daily.  A lot of times she knows what she is signing, but I have trouble interpreting her "version" of it.  She is constantly asking "this?" or "that?" to learn the names of things.  She is such a sponge right now.    She has a lot of words she says as well.  I find it interesting that she will get stuck on a word for a week or so saying or signing constantly when she spots it.  Then that word will go by the wayside without me hearing her say it for a long time as she works on another word.  Other times I find her parroting words I say, although she doesn't say them spontaneously.
• An attempted list to date for my records of words she says or clearly has said: Mama, Dada, dog, kitty, car, balloon, bubbles, pop, bear, flower, pretty, ruff ruff, bleh (means potty), aaahhh (means sleep), outside, ball, sssss (snake), baby, moon, watch, whale, meow meow (comes out yah, yah, yah), light, cracker.  She amazes me some days as she keeps adding new words.
• Signs she frequently uses: flower, butterfly, milk, please, thank you, water, eat, dog, bug, sleep, carrot, more, frog, ball, cloud, sun, sky, moon, bow, tree, bubbles, hat, book, fish, all done, mama, eat, airplane.  She is adding more every day...
• Lately I noticed she is noticing her letters and numbers.  She has letter magnets and says, "sssss" for them when I tried showing her the S.  Now she points at my shirts and books sometimes when she notices letters and numbers.  Obviously she can't tell any of them apart or what them mean yet.  The alphabet song on some toys has been her all time favorite song for months now.
• She has been doing well learning her body parts and clothing.  I love how cute she is pointing to and pulling on them.  She currently knows: hair, ear, mouth, tongue (she will pant like a dog) =), head, hair, eye, nose, head, hand, toes, foot, belly, teeth, shirt, shoes, pants, diaper, bow, hat.
• At roughly 12 1/2 months I started lowering her formula amounts and making her drink her "milk" from a sippy cup on her own instead me holding her.  I slowly instituting drinking some of her formula at meals for months before, but she refused to hold it herself.  Amazingly enough around 12 months she started wanting to hold it on her own.  She has always done well eating her foods on her own (except for morning oatmeal or coconut yogurt) since about 10 months.  But now that I have lowered her formula amounts to 16 oz a day instead of 30 some, she has been ravenously eating at least one meal a day.  I am shocked some days how much food she can put away.  I am so grateful that she is not a picky eater and has a wide arrangement of foods she loves.  We are still no dairy per pediatrician recommendation.  
• A couple weeks ago I have been slowly testing out a new toddler formula instead of the outrageously price Alim.entum.  This one is a gen.tlease formula so it is still partially broken down, but not as much as her current one.  Her diapers have been fine, but I keep questioning her  moods or sleep interruptions... normal toddler attitudes and waking or new formula?  I doubt I will ever know for sure unless it gets really obvious.  I want her to get all her fats and vitamins since she can't have milk, but not sure if I can switch her to say coconut milk safely without worrying about nutrition.  I guess that is a mom's eternal worry that her child is getting enough nutrition...
• I am having trouble keeping her entertained and occupied during the days we are home.  She wanders around like she is bored.  I am rotating her toys so that she has a little "variety", but I find she prefers to play with the recycling pile or a random plastic item.  She will run around the house looking for something to do.  I am not sure what else to do with a 13 month old.  She still wants to eat crayons and puzzle pieces.  We play chase, peek a boo, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, explore outside, splash in her pool or a bowl of water, swing, read, dance to music, go for walks, and watch signing time.  I am thinking she will soon start to be able to do more, but I find this age difficult to do much with her.
• She seems to be doing well currently with her obedience now that she definitely understands the consequence of spankings when she doesn't listen to mommy.  All I have to do is warn her and she will "listen".  Every now and then she will test her boundaries again and if I am consistent our "battles" are few.  She has such a independant streak, but I am noticing that she really wants to please me as well.  I love seeing her look for approval when she does something I ask.  She will even without me asking bring me something she knows she is not supposed to have in her mouth after she put it in her mouth so I can "take it away".
• She loves riding in the car and going places.  Lately she has a thing for riding in the stroller.  I guess because I usually let her ride in the grocery cart or in my baby carrier.  She is so tolerant of me doing my errands out and about.  She is very good at entertaining herself (when she is alone)... especially when she is supposed to be sleeping.  Overall now that she is older, I have determined that she is a pretty easy toddler... for now.  (After coming back to edit before posting, I find it funny she threw an all-out-crying fit today that lasted for 10 minutes after I took something away.  Some days are easier than others. ;o)  
• She is constantly talking to me with conviction and pointing and long jabbering sentences like she knows exactly what she is saying.  Sometimes she will say the same phrase over and over and I simply cannot translate.  I believe I have quite the talker on my hands.
• My current favorite thing she does: when she sees something that excites her and says really loudly and forcefully, "OHHHHHHH!" while pointing at it.

I just love her exuberance and love for life.  She is so fun and happy most of the time.  She is such a joy in my life!  She cracks me up all day long.  I am so grateful for every minute I get to spend with her.  I don't deserve any of it!  I have learned so much about myself and life from her.  And I know there will MUCH more to learn in the coming years.  God has really blessed us.

(Dedication, summer, and first birthday pictures to come... don't hold your breath too long, though. ;o)  I also hope to do my diet update and coming transfer update soon.  Whew!  I am so behind...)