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| Our active little Leo at 12-months-old |
Little Alina turned one-year-old on August 12, 2012. She has accomplished so much in her first year; from learning to walk at a mere 10-months-old; to climbing and scaling every piece of furniture in our house; to baby talking and repeating back words; to expressing her first few feisty toddler moments (she hardly ever does, but when it happens the girl can squeal loud enough to stop traffic). It is truly difficult to believe that she has completed her very first rotation around the sun ;) in what feels like record time. Where did our baby go!?!? While we will miss her being so little, the excitement of watching her grow supersedes any feelings of baby nostalgia. She has been an absolute joy to raise this first year.
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| Eating breakfast...completely unphased by the wild bedhead |
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| She is getting so tall, 93rd % baby! |
Alina's 12-month growth stats:
Height: 31.5 in (93rd percentile)
Weight: 20 3.5 oz (52nd percentile)
At our most recent checkup, we discovered that Alina's weight has now shot up into the 52nd percentile! This was good news to hear, as I was somewhat concerned at how underweight she was at all her prior checkups. I transitioned her from formula to whole milk early, at 11-months-old, to help bulk her up a bit. In addition to her whole milk bottles, she eats like crazy. Her favorite foods are: chicken, pasta, rice, eggs, cheese, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower and squash. She eats most everything we put on her plate; but believe it or not, Elise is our most adventurous eater, she will try anything. Alina just started turning her nose up to tomatoes and a few other foods. I know the routine with kids appetites, they are cyclical and you'd better be prepared to give them second and third helpings during growth spurts. Alina had her most recent growth spurt right around 11.5 to 12 months. We are so happy to see her weight in the 50th percentile, and it looks as if we may have another tall girl on our hands because Alina is in the 93rd percentile for her height.
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| Big smile and look at all her teeth! |
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| Laughing fit - she's happy and loved |
In teething related news, at 12-months-old little Alina had a total of eight teeth, four on top and four on the bottom. She got her first molars in, top and bottom, at 12-months and three weeks old. In all honestly, I had no idea they were coming through until they had started to crown, she was that good. In fact, we barely heard a peep out of her due to teething. She was slightly fussier than normal, but nothing bad. Elise was extra cranky for a month straight when she got her molars in.
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| Dancing with her shoes...yeah it's a baby thing! |
Alina had added a couple more words to her baby repertoire. She learned to say "baby" right around 12-months-old, and this is her favorite word. She loves pointing to photos, of her and Elise, on the fridge and saying "baby" to each one. She can almost say "sissy", but it comes out more like "sissa". She is also in the early stages of working on her ABCs, so far she can say "aaaa, bbbb"...we're still working on the rest, but it is super cute hearing her shout "aaaa, bbbb" for 10 minutes at a time. Overall, Alina is still a baby of few words, she is more interested in singing and music; I think she may be able to sing an entire song even before she learns how to string a sentence together :) Although she can't say all the words yet, she can perfectly hum the tunes to, "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and "Frere Jacques". It is so cute to hear her hum along when we sing these lullabies to her before bed. She also loves to dance! Any time there is music on, she slowly starts nodding and bobbing her head and then she puts one hand out and waves it back and forth to the beat. One thing is for sure, she is taking after mommy and becoming a little music lover.
At 12-months-old little Alina is virtually fearless. As I said before, she loves to climb and stand on everything she possibly can, no matter how precarious. She has since progressed to riding Elise's push cars and mini battery powered quad runner. She also gets a big thrill from attempting to ride her sister's bicycle. Alina is such a mini daredevil, and when she falls she rarely cries, she just picks herself up and climbs again. She is one tough toddler!
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| Already trying to ride big sissy's bike |
Alina is such a loving little girl. She has always been incredibly sweet, but at 12-months-old we are really starting to see the depth of her affection toward all of us. She gives the best full body hugs! She will come up to us, throw out her arms, lay her head down on our chest, and proceed to cuddle for over a minute at a time. It is the sweetest thing ever, and I fully enjoy every moment of it. Alina also loves to give kisses to all of us before bed each night. She is always in a good mood, and it has been the biggest joy to care for her over this first year. We look forward to countless more cuddly moments with her!
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| Love her :) |
