Dear Maya
My big girl, my drama queen, my energizer baby, my silly monkey, my sweetie, my love
Today you are twelve months old! 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12! I'm going to do a separate one-year lookback post about your first year and what it has all meant to me, but right now I am just going to write about this past month. And what a month it was for you!
First things first. You are walking!!! I feel like it was just a few days ago that you stood up for a few fleeting seconds on your own. Just after New Years, you decided that cruising was no longer enough. You had places to go and walking (or in your case running!) was the answer. Daddy and I are so proud of you. We love to see you take a few steps and then cheer for you and give you hugs and kisses.
Every day you become more steady and are able to cover longer distances and different surfaces. You are amazing. I used to look forward to the way your face would break into a smile whenever you spotted daddy after a long day at daycare, I still do. But now I also have this little burst of pride and excitement when I open up my arms and you come rushing into them. You see me, you recognize me, your face lights up and you come rushing over to me. I think about that feeling all day. We got you some fancy new Adidas sneakers (Costco's finest!) and you get so many complements on them!
You took your first steps on Monday January 2nd, the last day of your winter/Christmas break. All of your teachers were so excited to see you walking the next day. I will admit that those first few days were a bit much for you. You came home totally exhausted You have been learning so many new skills recently, I think all of this development was a lot for your little brain to process. Even though you had taken great naps, you would come home absolutely exhausted. But now you seem to have adjusted, as you always do, and we are back to our smiling and happy girl.
You like to sleep with your tush in the air and your arms tucked under your chest. And your head is always in the corner of your crib.
You are like your mommy, you can nap anywhere. A car, in the stroller, even in your wagon.
This month you also developed some very strong opinions. My love, I am somewhat reluctant to report that your first real word appears to be 'no.' It sounds a bit like naaaw but we know what you mean. And so do you. When you've had enough dinner, you tear off your bib and say naw naw naw. When you don't want to lay down to get your diaper changed, you squirm about and say nawwwwwwww. I recently told someone that you were 11 months going on 11 years old. I think this is a glimpse of what your teenage years will be like.
You had visits from both sets of grandparents. Saba and Abuelita came to visit and so did Bubbie and Grandpa. Boy are you loved! You had so much fun playing and laughing with them.
Cuddles with Abuelita
Sillyness with Saba
Wheee! A wagon ride with Bubbie
Giggles with Grandpa
lighting candles with Bubbie and Grandpa
You celebrated your first Hanukkah. You Skyped and lit candles with faraway relatives. You spun your driedel and absolutely loved tearing the paper off of your presents. Boy did you do well! You got puzzles and toys and books. Your two favorite gifts however, were your Radio Flyer wagon and your musical instruments.
dreidel
unwrapping gifts
lighting candles with daddy
first wagon ride!
fast wagon ride with daddy
harmonica
triangle and runny nose
You love you play the triangle and the cymbals. You could bang on the xylophone all day and you are fascinated with the harmonica. You sit riveted watching daddy play it. You keep trying to blow into it - I bet you will get the hang of it soon. You take your octopus bell shaker with you everywhere, you even have an outfit to match!
beautiful eyes and bell shaker
playing the xylophone
You had a very busy social calendar. You went downtown for daycare in DC and saw Miss Erika. You had several playdates- one with Nathan and another with Aidan.
hangin with Nathan
We raided Aunt Fara's basement and came home with tons of toys! Now in the evening, you and I go to the basement to play while daddy makes dinner. You love to bring books and toys over to me. You have become quite adventurous, crawling under the exersaucer is one of your new favorite activities!
On weekends we all hang out in pajamas until after your first nap. I like to read books with you. You love the 'touch and feel' books and pop up books. You love to feel the different textures and turn the pages too.
This month you tried asparagus, salmon and lamb. You like oranges and spaghetti. On Christmas Day, we went to a restaurant with you, and for the first time we did not bring anything for you. You ate regular food off the menu like a big girl!
dinner at Buca
You eat so well these days. There isn't much you refuse. I know it's coming... just not yet. Thankfully.
spaghetti
cruising in your cute overalls
You play so nicely with all of your toys, but some of your favorite playthings are unexpected items around the house. You can sit and play with an empty wrapping paper roll for days and an empty box is endless fun. One of your most loved toys is the laundry basket. You love to climb in, around and over it. You love it when I turn it over and 'trap' you inside. You giggle when we play peek-a-boo with it and use it as a drum or a car.
laundry basket madness
opening birthday cards
You are so loving to Jerry. You give him the sweetest hugs and like to pet his soft fur. You still have to be reminded to be gentle with the old fella, but he is patient with you and lets you lay on top of him.
Jerrylove
You have the craziest smile these days. You have two teeth coming in on top, but they are not your front teeth, so you have this baby vampire look going on. You like to chew on everything; your washcloth in the bath, your Sophie giraffe, etc. I am pretty sure more teeth are on their way soon.
crazyteeth
You have no interest in taking these monthly photos anymore; you want to stand on your chair or walk to your toys or grab the camera or chase the cat or hug mommy. It has been fun taking this series of pictures and seeing how you grow each month but I think you are happy it's over now.
12 month pic standing on chair
12 month pic clapping hands
Later this week, daycare is going to have a little birthday party for you and then we are going to have one at our house this weekend. Your have family coming to visit from New York and New Jersey and Florida. Daddy and I have been working to put together a really fun day for you, we can't wait to see your reaction to it all!
