Everly's 12-14 Month Update
My baby girl is over a year old!! I have been slacking on the monthly updates with everything we've had going on this summer, so here is an update for the past few months! Being a mom feels so natural and is better than I could have ever imagined. Right before Everly turned one we settled into Winnipeg and started spending more time with family and friends. When we first got here she was SO scared of everyone. She wouldn't even let us put her down. I am happy to say that 3 months in and she is a social butterfly! We successfully managed to detach her from our side and she now plays with other kids and lets other adults hold her. Thanks goodness, because with baby #2 on the way, she's gotta learn to share mom and dad! She obviously still has her moments where she wants Jason and I, but for the most part she is wild and free. I love watching her play with her cousins, second cousins and other friends. Being away from home for most of the year can be hard, so while we are home I make a point to let her hang out with as many people as she can tolerate. She also has such a personality now!! Definitely going to pave her own way and always try and get what she wants, which I love. She is full of life and has the cutest quirkiest personality. So far this summer has been amazing and I love watching her grow up.
Toys
At 12 months her favorite toy was still her train. She pushed it all over the house, going from room to room. She still loves using it to walk around. She also likes playing with her magnets on the fridge, reading books, and playing with toy kitchens. Her favorite thing to do now is climbing stairs. She thinks it is so much fun and giggles the whole way up. We still have to learn how to come back down though. Since it's been warm out she also always prefers to be outside, be it in the grass, playing in the mud or splashing in the kiddie pool. She is definitely going to be my outdoor girl! She also loves throwing balls, carrying buckets around hiding things around the house.
Food
I am officially done breastfeeding! It wasn't even really up to me, one day Everly just didn't want to feed from me anymore. I tried the next few days and same thing. I was aiming for a year, but at 11 1/2 months she just had enough. I was so confused, until I realized I was pregnant! I read your milk can change when you get pregnant, so Everly must have noticed and not liked it anymore. It made the transition so easy! Now she loves drinking milk and water out of her sippy cup. She also loves most foods, but sticks to her favorites: oatmeal, yogurt, peanut butter, bananas, eggs, tomatoes, cottage cheese, watermelon, blueberries, steak, hummus and potatoes. She also had her first taste of cake at her first birthday party! I stuck to a healthy recipe without refined sugar because we are still avoiding that for as long as possible. You can check out the recipe and other details of her party here. Needless to say she loved the cake, even though it was healthy! She went in face first. We also traveled and it's hard to eat completely clean when we are on the road. I packed a bunch of snacks, but realistically I just couldn't pack 4 days of food for her. This meant she had her first french fry... This obviously will not be the norm going forward, but sometimes you've got to work with what you're given. Needless to say she liked them. Overall Everly has a big appetite and loves to eat just like her mom!
Day-to-Day
She goes to bed around 7-7:30pm and wakes up around 7:30-8:30am. At one year she still had a morning nap a few hours after she got up, and then an afternoon nap. Now that she's 14 months we are trying to transition to one nap, but if I let her she'll always go down for two still. We eat breakfast right when she gets up, then play around the house and she usually does a few laps with her train. After her morning nap we usually get out and go for a walk, go to the gym (they have childcare) or run some errands. Then she'll have lunch and have her second nap. In the afternoon we will get outside again, or hang out with some friends. We are loving play dates these days so she can learn to play with other kids (and I get some adult interaction!). Then she'll have dinner, have a bath and go to bed. Her favorite place to go during the day is the park and splash pad. She gets to run free, play in the water and stare at other people. It's definitely her (and my) happy place.
Giggles
She laughs when she thinks she's being chased, or when you catch her doing something she shouldn't be doing. She's still ticklish on her sides and under her arms. It's honestly really easy to make her laugh. Jason can always make her laugh so hard which is so cute. She loves dogs too, and laughs and runs towards them every time she sees them. I'm so glad she's not afraid of them! She is our ray of sunshine and so full of joy (most of the time).
Grumpy
She is usually only grumpy if she's hungry, tired or strapped in her car seat too long. It's really easy to tell now what she wants, so it's easy to avoid any meltdowns. Everly also got sick for the first time at 13 months :(. It was so sad seeing her throw up. She must have caught the flu from someone (and subsequently gave it to me), and was sick for a few days. She was in a surprisingly good mood considering she wasn't feeling well.
Milestones/Firsts
Everly started walking when she was 12 1/2 months! Ever since she hasn't crawled at all. We also left her for the first time for 5 days while we went to Kelowna. We left her with my mom and sister and she did so well! She also had her first bike ride in her Weeride seat which is so much fun. Jason and I love biking so it's nice to be able to take her with us. She now has 10 teeth and teething hasn't been too bad. We've had a few nights she has woken up and needed tylenol, but other than that she's been a trooper. Other firsts were going on a 13 hour road trip, going to Alberta for the first time, jumping on a trampoline, got dedicated at church, went to a petting zoo, gave mommy and daddy kisses, attended annual Clear Lake trip, went on her 15th flight, brushed her own teeth, went to the splash pad, jumped on her first trampoline and went on a seadoo. She hasn't said many words yet, just mama and dad so far. She does know sign language for "more" and "all done" which has been so helpful with eating.
Events
We went to a friends wedding in Buffalo in June, which she did great for, considering our flight was delayed 5 hours and we didn't get to our hotel until 4am! They had babysitters during the reception which was so nice, and then she danced with us a bit and went to bed. We also go to the cottage every weekend that we're free and she loves it. Either at Jason's parents or my parents cottage. We went on a boat ride this past weekend and it was so cute seeing her experience it. She went on a boat last summer but was so small to really know what was going on. It's fun watching her this year as she can run around and play. We also celebrated Canada Day and Independence day as she is our little dual citizen.
Tips
I did a post about our recent road trip, and gave all of the tips and tricks we used to keep Everly happy for 13 hours in the car! If you have a road trip coming up, you can check it out here. I also realized she loves her blanket. She wasn't napping great at other people's houses, so I tried bringing her blanket one time and she went down no problem! It's so nice to have that because we take it with us wherever we go, along with her soothers and sound machine, and she has such a good sleep. I think having familiar things definitely helps kiddos sleep!
Best,
Stacey