Aurora - One Year

One year?  How on earth did this happen already??

Height :: 30" (75%)

Weight :: 20 lbs 6 oz (40%)

Head Circumference ::18 3/4" (90%)

Honestly it doesn't seem possible that my girl could already be a year old. I remember someone telling me when she was born that every stage is absolutely amazing and you can't imagine how it could possibly get any better but it does.  I didn't believe it at the time as I was holding my little one week old in my arms -- but she was right!  It is incredible to watch her little mind coming alive, see her absorbing the world around her and starting to make sense of it all.  I can't wait to see what the next year holds for us.

This past month has been a huge one for developments.  She has always been a very social and aware baby, but she seems so much more so than she did even a month ago.  It is incredible.

Aurora can finally talk to us!  She is signing "more" and "milk" as well as saying mama and dada to the appropriate person.  Before this I swear everything fun was dada ;) I am amazed by how much she is showing she understands and how much she can communicate with her limited vocabulary.  She was eating dinner one night recently and started screaming that she wanted something so I waited until she was done, looked at her and said "Aurora Lynn how do you ask for more?" and she promptly responded with the "more" sign.  I was floored.  I hadn't actually expected her to comprehend or respond.  She really is becoming a little person!

She is still cruising and has even started taking a few steps in order to get from one hand hold to the next.

She has started handing us stuff when we ask for it and she is helping us get her dressed by holding out an arm or ducking her head into her shirt.

She has been big into sharing food lately.  I can hardly get the girl to eat her own food because all she wants to do is feed one of us.  It's terribly cute but often times the tidbits she is trying to share are less than appetizing.

She got a mini piano for her birthday from Grandma and Grandpa that looks exactly like her Daddy's.  She absolutely loves to sit on her little bench and play while he is playing on the big piano. 

Sleep continues to be pretty good except when she is teething.  She is just about ready to cut her two top front teeth.

We are making real progress with naps.  She has been going down extremely easily for both of her two naps.  I nurse her, read her a book, and sing to her before laying her down and leaving.  She rarely even makes a peep after I leave.

Aurora - Eleven Months

We have a tooth!  Actually it was one right after the other so she now has both her bottom front teeth in.

Getting ready to take off.  She "takes us on walks" all over the house but still needs us to hold both of her hands. If you sneak one away she stops dead ;)

Go Broncos!

She has really started copying us.  If Dad bangs on the table she bangs on the table.  And when Grandma starts singing patty-cake Rora starts clapping her hands.  It is so fun to see her starting to interact with us. 

She is still stuck on da-da but babbling up a storm.  A few times it has really sounded like she has said words.  She was patting Chile the other day and I swear she said "chile"  Last time we were at the vet he also could have sworn she responded "okay" to something he said.   

Aurora has really taken off with solids this month.  It was like something finally clicked and she started shoveling food into her mouth!

Bedtime continues to get better.  This month we established playtime in the crib after all of her sleeps and this has made her infinitely more comfortable in her bed.

I don't make this stuff up...this is literally how my daughter sleeps

Naps are still tricky.  She goes down really easily -- often with no protest at all -- but the length still usually ranges from 30-60 minutes.

Aurora - Ten Months

weighs 19 pounds 14 oz

She's cruising!  Aurora has finally discovered that her feet move. I am pretty sure life as we know it will soon be over



Loves taking things out of other things like unpacking boxes or the diaper bag. She also likes stacking the dog food bowls and putting the pieces of her puzzle stacker back on the peg 




Loves to play the fake coughing game--you cough and she coughs back...indefinitely :)



Separation anxiety is starting to kick in a little. Every once in a while she decides there is someone she doesn't want to be left with, and when she is tired she will cry if Mama leaves, but for the most part she will hang out with whoever




Picking up food with index finger and thumb. Her coordination is improving -- more food is now making it into her mouth rather than in her lap



Huge leap forward with bedtime. Not only is she falling asleep in her own bed, but she is falling asleep pretty quickly. Our bedtime routine only takes 20-30 minutes after bath now. I can't believe how far we have come



No real change in naps. She still goes down easily, but doesn't stay asleep terribly long and there is definitely no resettling once she has woken up

Aurora - Nine Months

Height :: 28 1/2" (80%)

Weight :: 18 lbs 10 oz (50%)

Head :: 18 1/4" (95%)

She's mobile! She finally figured out that she can move herself and hasn't stopped since.



The other day I started her bath and plopped her down on the floor before running into our bedroom to grab my pj's. I came back in to find her hanging over the bathtub watching the water fill up. What a way to find out your daughter can stand! Yikes.




Still no teeth. We keep thinking that she is teething, but nothing has broken through yet.




She eats pretty much anything we put in front of her, but I think more of it ends up on the floor than in her mouth.



Finally going to sleep on her own in her crib. After a last feed, bath and some books we put her in her crib and sing to her from the hallway.




Naps are getting better too.  Since we have started getting her to fall asleep in the crib she has been able to take solo naps that last longer than 20-30 minutes.  She is currently taking two naps of about 60 minutes.

Aurora - Eight Months

18 pounds 5 ounces

Aurora - Seven Months

17 pounds 11 ounces

At seven months Aurora is starting to look like a little girl and not just a baby. How fast they grow!