Vanessa

Here's our little princess. Just about the cutest thing in the whole world.
She had her one year check up today, even though she's almost 14 months. It's taken us that long to get insurance and find a pediatrician.

She weighs 18.2 pounds. I didn't get her height though. She's small, but healthy!
Her development is great. She is running faster than I can keep up. She got away from me at the store the other day and for about 30 seconds I nearly had a heartattack.

She has lots of animal books and can point out any animal you ask her about...gorilla, kangaroo, dog, cat, monkey, frog, butterfly, etc.

She knows the animal sounds for cow, lamb, gorilla, rooster, cat, dog, horse, bee, duck, frog. She also makes a fish face and flaps her hands like butterfly wings.

She has three puzzles (the kind that is the shape of an animal or insect and has the same picture where they go as the puzzle piece). She can put all the pieces in the right spots and is starting to be able to wiggle them into place.

She knows nose, eyes, ears, teeth, hair, belly, toes, and fingers if you ask her where they are. (she'll also point out your nose, teeth, etc)

She can say mama, dada, tree (tee), hot (ho), no and nose (these two sound the same but she shakes her head no when she is telling you no and points to either your nose or her nose when she is saying nose), baby, dog (do), and duck (du).

She likes to shake her head no a lot and we've been trying to teach her to nod her head yes. She still doesn't do it on a regular basis. The other day I was asking her a bunch of yes/no questions and she just kept saying no. In succession with all the other question, I asked her if she "knew how to nod her head yes?" Without missing a beat she nodded her head yes (only the Vanessa version, which is way cuter anyway). To nod her head she opens her mouth and puts her chin on her chest and then nods without lifting her chin off her chest. It's pretty funny looking but really cute.

Her favorite movie, which we watch almost daily is Happy Feet. She only gets to watch it before bedtime and naptime if I'm having a hard time getting her to sleep.

She does a pretty good job of communicating what she wants. She just points like crazy and kinda whines until I get it. When she points at the fridge, she wants a drink; she points at the TV, she wants to watch Happy Feet. She definitely knows what she wants and you can't convince her otherwise. She almost understands what I'm saying to her, I'm the only one that doesn't always catch her drift :)

Needless to say, she is a whole lot of fun. She has a smile that melts everyone and the sweetest giggle and snort (yep, she snorts). She makes me laugh all day long and amazes me at what a baby can learn.

Being a mother has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Hard, not in the way that I thought it would be hard. It's hard because it humbles you like you didn't think was possible and turns your world upside down. But it is also the most rewarding thing I have ever done. I wouldn't change it for the world.