Farrah Oakley Brooks. My big one-year-old daughter. I love you and am so damn proud of you and of me and of your dad and of our family. This year has been seriously nothing short of amazing. I could (and probably will) go on and on, but let's wrap up these monthly updates that I've done for 9 months of pregnancy, and now 12 months of your little, young, perfect life.
You are doing so much better in the car. You ride quietly. We have figured out some things that work such as bringing your lambie with you, and offering you pacifiers; they go hand-in-hand. When the pacifier goes in, the lamb must be had. You liked to toss your paci, and the lamb or anything else near you for that matter, when you decided you were done with it, and I would have to have a stash of extras in the front to hand back to you. Recently I attached one to your strap with a pacifier hook and for days it ticked you off that you couldn't throw it, but it has been a huge convenience for us all.
You always like to see what's going on, that's for sure. You will stretch your neck to see what's going on outside the windows. You sometimes quickly pick at little strings on your lamb or car seat and I find that to be so cute. Whenever we park the car at our destination, you start kicking your legs with excitement and you snicker and yelp a little - so darn cute. I'm obsessed.
Your hair is getting fuller and longer. You still love, love, love flowers and you always want to pick a flower and hold it. You really like playing in water and being outside. You also take your dirty diapers and carry them while crawling all the way back to our bedroom, and you carefully stand up holding onto the diaper pail, open the lid, bend down and pick up the diaper, put it inside, and close the lid. So awesome!
You give kisses!! Along with a big "mwah" sound. When you get started on them, you give a lot of them. You love playing with lids, putting them on and off and twisting them on. You also love shoes and must put on all shoes that you see. Once I had four pairs of socks on your feet at once because you kept trying to put them on and then handing them to me.
You really are starting to talk and jabber really loudly. You say "hi" really loudly when someone drives by or when you see someone you know. The first (and only so far) two words you've put together are "Hi, da!" You have a cackle laugh when you laugh hard.
So...you took your first 5 steps this month! You had taken one step on the sidewalk in front of me and Nana (new name for Grandma McCoy)! A few days later, I put you down on the kitchen floor wearing your jelly sandals and you stood there. Your dad was also in the kitchen and I told him to look. You carefully took a step, and with me not wanting to move a muscle, and your dad cheering you on, "Go, baby! Keep going! Good job!" you took another step, and three more, before you reached my open arms. We were so damn proud of you and we gave you so much praise. I smiled so big with tears in my eyes. It's insane the way these things make me feel!
Since then you've taken 3 steps on two different occasions, but you haven't taken any interest in learning to walk on your own any more yet. But that is okay by me, because as your daddy keeps reminding me, once you learn, you'll be walking forever, so there's no need to rush it.
Your dad said you're going to be a giggler like your mommy. And he said you sit with good posture like me, too.
I love this time in our lives. I love handing you snack after snack in the car because you aren't able to hold a container without tossing it around. I love sitting on the front step watching you spend countless time playing with the Little Tikes car opening and shutting the door, in and out, placing things in the back or in the pretend gas tank. I love listening to your voice and the way you point at everything you see or want. I love, love, love everything about you, darling.
I have an obsession with car seat photos!
You are doing so much better in the car. You ride quietly. We have figured out some things that work such as bringing your lambie with you, and offering you pacifiers; they go hand-in-hand. When the pacifier goes in, the lamb must be had. You liked to toss your paci, and the lamb or anything else near you for that matter, when you decided you were done with it, and I would have to have a stash of extras in the front to hand back to you. Recently I attached one to your strap with a pacifier hook and for days it ticked you off that you couldn't throw it, but it has been a huge convenience for us all.
You always like to see what's going on, that's for sure. You will stretch your neck to see what's going on outside the windows. You sometimes quickly pick at little strings on your lamb or car seat and I find that to be so cute. Whenever we park the car at our destination, you start kicking your legs with excitement and you snicker and yelp a little - so darn cute. I'm obsessed.
Your hair is getting fuller and longer. You still love, love, love flowers and you always want to pick a flower and hold it. You really like playing in water and being outside. You also take your dirty diapers and carry them while crawling all the way back to our bedroom, and you carefully stand up holding onto the diaper pail, open the lid, bend down and pick up the diaper, put it inside, and close the lid. So awesome!
You give kisses!! Along with a big "mwah" sound. When you get started on them, you give a lot of them. You love playing with lids, putting them on and off and twisting them on. You also love shoes and must put on all shoes that you see. Once I had four pairs of socks on your feet at once because you kept trying to put them on and then handing them to me.
You really are starting to talk and jabber really loudly. You say "hi" really loudly when someone drives by or when you see someone you know. The first (and only so far) two words you've put together are "Hi, da!" You have a cackle laugh when you laugh hard.
So...you took your first 5 steps this month! You had taken one step on the sidewalk in front of me and Nana (new name for Grandma McCoy)! A few days later, I put you down on the kitchen floor wearing your jelly sandals and you stood there. Your dad was also in the kitchen and I told him to look. You carefully took a step, and with me not wanting to move a muscle, and your dad cheering you on, "Go, baby! Keep going! Good job!" you took another step, and three more, before you reached my open arms. We were so damn proud of you and we gave you so much praise. I smiled so big with tears in my eyes. It's insane the way these things make me feel!
Since then you've taken 3 steps on two different occasions, but you haven't taken any interest in learning to walk on your own any more yet. But that is okay by me, because as your daddy keeps reminding me, once you learn, you'll be walking forever, so there's no need to rush it.
Your dad said you're going to be a giggler like your mommy. And he said you sit with good posture like me, too.
I love this time in our lives. I love handing you snack after snack in the car because you aren't able to hold a container without tossing it around. I love sitting on the front step watching you spend countless time playing with the Little Tikes car opening and shutting the door, in and out, placing things in the back or in the pretend gas tank. I love listening to your voice and the way you point at everything you see or want. I love, love, love everything about you, darling.
I have an obsession with car seat photos!
First time swimming!
