Dolly Had a Birthday

Nana Wilson, JoAnn Miller (wonderful babysitter), and Grandpa Kringel gave Ever birthday presents.  I also wrapped up some of the clothes Tutu had bought for her so she'd have extra to open.  So Dalai's first birthday (celebrated late because I worked on her birthday) consisted of a lovely fire by Jim and a very apathetic Dolly opening presents with substantial assistance.  It was past her bedtime, so I'm pretty sure she would have preferred to be sleeping.

A short hug break:

(That's one of our very favorite Dolly developments.  She hugs and snuggles now, and we love it so much.  I always used to cradle her in my arm when I rocked her before I put her down.  Now she often climbs up me so she can lay her head on my neck/shoulder during our bedtime routine.  Love.)

Back to presents:

Can you feel the excitement?

JoAnn gave Dolly her first dolly.  She hasn't totally gotten into it yet but she has cradled it briefly a few times.  

Chava was more interested in the paper, labels, and bags than the gifts.  

I taught her that putting things on your head is fun.  She enjoys it:

While she opened presents, Jim and I sang "Happy Birthday."  Apparently we sounded bad because it seemed to really freak out the birthday girl. 

I just took Dolly in on Friday (January 11) for her one-year appointment.  At nearly 13 months, she weighed in at 17 lbs, 10 oz, and that was with a wet diaper on.  That put her in the third percentile for weight.  She's now in the 35th percential for height (let the decline begin).  Her head remains steady in the 76th percentile.  I complained to the doctor about how she rejects pretty much all food, and he said he's not worried; she's not going to be a big eater, and she's still following her growth curve pretty well.  He said not to be too concerned about how healthful the food is but to just give her whatever she likes to get calories in her.  "If she likes french fries, give her french fries."  So the bad diet begins.

One of the questions on the form I had to fill out in the doctor's office was something like, "How many blocks does he/she stack on top of one another?"  My answer was 0.  Sometimes Dolly and I play blocks . . . 

. . . but what that means is I build and she instantly topples.  

Who, me?

Karen/Nana Wilson told us months ago that Dolly was saying "dog."  (The Wilsons have a dog named Sam.)  I didn't believe it until early December when Dolly saw a dog two days in a row, and both times she immediately said, "Dog!"  (Except it usually sounds like "dah" or "dow" or sometimes "doh.")  Ironic that two dog-haters had a baby whose first official word was "dog."  She has started imitating sounds a lot and will say "ball" and "book" (both pronounced without the final consonant sound), "baby" (pronounced "ba-ba"), buh-bye (also pronounced "ba-ba"), "uh-oh," and "dada."  Tonight she mimicked my "night-night" with a "na-na."  Mamo said she heard a "papa" while we were home for Christmas.  I'm still not sure she knows I'm "mama," but she definitely knows "dada."  The other day I asked, "Where's dada?," and she looked at Jim and pointed. 

She still growls.  In fact, she sometimes says "dog" in a semi-growl.

She likes to hand things back and forth and bonk heads. 

She's going to be a monkey before too long.  In the airport on the way to Hawai'i for Christmas, she held on to the back of a chair and climbed up it with her feet.  She also climbed over the back of the couch at Mamo and Papo's to reach me behind it. 

Jim says Ever loves me more and wants me when she's sick or sad.  For a while Jim was actually getting super bitter because she would come to me and give me long hugs but would never hug or snuggle with him.  As seen in the photo above, she finally broke down and started giving him loves, too. 

It's so fun to see her learning.  She knows what things are for and will "brush" her hair and hold barrettes or hair ties to her head.  She treats all sorts of electronic items (including remotes, ipods, and cameras) as phones, holding them to the back/side of her head.  She started taking steps by herself over Christmas, but her progress has been hindered by illness.  (More on that in the Christmas posts.) 

She sleeps with her knees under her and her bum in the air.  I wish I could get a real picture, but I had to settle for a photo of the monitor:

She loves being around other kids.  We were at the Koehles' for dinner several weeks ago, and Gordon (who's 2 1/2) was running around with some other kids.  Dolly crawled after them and wanted so badly to play. 

She has a fun sense of humor and the best laugh I've ever heard.  Light of our lives!