Hi-yah?

What's with the title of this post, you ask? Oh, that's just Grace answering the phone and saying "hello?" in baby speak (as I melt into a gooey puddle of love). It doesn't stop there either, she chats with friends AND uses her free, non-phone holding hand to make gestures that emphasize whatever she is talking about. I wish I had a picture, but I mostly spend the time that she does this trying to stifle my giggles so she keeps going. It is serious entertainment.

Just up from a nap...sleepy eyes...and crazy bed head!

Speaking of baby talk, here is a translation guide for some other words heard 'round the casa:

Dada - Daddy
Mama - Momma
Nana - Banana or Nana (my mom)
Papa - Pops (my dad)
Shh-uh - Shoe
Bah - Ball
Baba - Bottle
Muh - More
Dahh - Dog
Duh - Duck
Hiyah - Hello

That's all I can think of for now. And, yes, I realize they are all basic sounds...I'm not claiming to have baby genius over here, but it is so neat to see her start to verbalize things.

In other developmental news, we had 2-almost-steps this weekend! They were sort of as she dive bombed from one piece of furniture to another, but she moved her feet in the process...and actually the first was her going from the ottoman in our livingroom over to "hug" Molly. So appropriate. She has been on a huge doggy hugging spree lately. She will spend most of our pre-bedtime play going back and forth from one dog to the other, just hugging it out. Poor pups. Her hugs are sort of violent. Luckily they think she is pretty sweet and give her puppy kisses (gross) in return for the hair pulling.

Grace still has 8 teeth, but not for long. Her one year molars are finally breaking through and look really painful. Her gums are really red, swollen, and almost look like they are going to bleed. Sorry for the visual. In addition to those teeth, it looks like her next ones will be two up top and two more on the bottom. We had to dose her up with some Tylenol for the first time in awhile this weekend. Ouchies.

Some other stats that I should have posted for her 1 year:
Height - 31.75 in. (98th percentile)
Weight - 24.1 (87th percentile)
Shoe Size - 4
Diaper Size -  4
Clothing Size - 18 - 24 months in most brands

Some other news? We are now switched almost 100% onto Whole Milk. I won't lie...we are having a really hard time decreasing the quantity of liquids she consumes in relation to the amount of solids she eats. We still add a couple of ounces of formula to her night time bottles to make sure she is getting nutrition. This is going to have to phase out soon....but I'm pretty sure girlfriend would binge drink milk until she had a killer stomach ache if we let her. Speaking of drinking, we are trying to move to sippy cups and straws, but we've had a tough time. Since she never really took to a pacifier, I think bottles are one of the things that comforts and soothes her, so we've been pretty relaxed about it. Now that our trip home is over, we will try to work on it more. (There was no way we were going to fly on a plane with out bottles on board...and p.s. worked like a charm- we had great flights!)

Some other things...let's go bullet style:

• Still very attached to yours truly, getting better around strangers
• Hates to keep shoes and socks on...loves to have me put them on for her to take off
• Favorite Books:
• Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
• 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed (holds her head at the "bumped his head" part)
• Anything with texture
• Blows kisses
• Bites (only my) shoulder when leaning in for a hug
• Enjoys looking at pictures in frames, points to them and the people in them
• Obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...the Hotdog Dance cures all bad moods...at least momentarily
• Likes balloons
• Favorite foods:
• Mac and cheese
• Corn
• Applesauce
• Puffs/Crunchies
• Bananas
• Waffles
• Oatmeal
• Popcorn
• We need to work on our veggies and protein, huh?
• Waves hi and bye
• Falls asleep between 7:30 - 8:30 pm, sleeps through the night (till about 6:30 am) *almost* all the time
• Points to things she wants to see or be carried over to
• LOVES being outside. Will throw fits to get out there
• Started having tantrums right after turning one. Throws her head back and cries if she doesn't like something/get something she wants
• Down to one nap a day at school and one or two on the weekends at home  

As usual, I'm sure there is plenty that I am missing. I love being able to capture her stats on here, so those of you who don't necessarily want to read about what size diaper my child wears...thanks for sticking this post out. ;) I'll be back with a weekend recap and some Fall Decor news soon!

xo,
H