12 month check up

Paige's doctor declared her a healthy girl at her check up today! She weighed 21 lbs 11 oz and measured 31" tall. She's off the chart in height and in the top quarter for weight for kids her age. We've started mixing in whole milk with her formula, and so long as it's warmed through, she drinks it down just fine. Paige is eating mostly "normal" food these days, although we try to feed her more veggies and less junk than what we eat! She actually likes broccoli (a shock to any readers who are familiar with mom's preferences as a kid!), peas, carrots, corn, and she's crazy about beans! Who knew! Green, black, red/kidney - she would eat them at every meal if we let her. She still loves cheese, yogurt, cheerios, applesauce. She's branching out more with proteins: turkey, chicken, tofu, eggs, veggie burgers, and even some creamy peanut butter. She likes to feed herself and lately will put her hand on the spoon to "help" mom get the food to her mouth.

Paige is saying mama, dada, and Hannah pretty clearly these days. We can also make out "all done" and "hello" pretty often. She points vigorously when she wants something. She makes the sign for "milk" when she wants some kind of drink. She sometimes puts her hand to her mouth when she wants to eat, although this isn't consistent yet. Her communication is surprisingly clear for not speaking too many words! We're not sure if this is a developmental milestone, but Paige is certainly entertaining herself more and more. In this video, she "twirls" around and around.

Birthday Fun

We celebrated Paige's birthday on the 23rd with a party of 9 people: Paige, mom, dad, Anne, Annmarie, Rick, Mari, Loren (9 days old!), and Socorro. We had left-over turkey (of course), plus birthday cake (made by mom), and ice cream (made by dad). Paige liked the cake quite a lot, but didn't care too much for the ice cream -- probably too cold. She opened lots of gifts: clothes, books, toys, savings bonds. She really likes a couple of her new books that more interactive (mirrors to look in, animals to touch) and the ones with the fun rhymes (Go Dog Go!). Her new bath toys are also a hit, since she LOVES the bath! Mom and dad caved in & got her an electronic toy.

Paige liked the cake

Paige got a puppy

Reading a new book with Dad

Housewarming

We hosted about 25 people today at our housewarming party. Paige slept through the first hour, but was thereafter quite social. It helped that several of our guests brought their kids, so she had fun playing with them.

Paige is babbling more everyday. We're sure that anyday now, we'll be able to understand what she's saying! She imitates us and tries to make sounds like "all done" and "bye bye." She also has a sound she greets her babysitter with that sounds sort-of like "Hannah."

Photos from the party below.

Mom, why are you blowing on the cake?!

Who needs toys when you have these cool coasters to play with?

Family portrait from the big day

Settling into the new home

So if you know us in person, you know that we just moved into a new house. Paige is adjusting SO WELL! She has taken over as queen of this "castle" and has fully explored every corner (and I do mean every corner, even the ones we try to keep her out of!).

Here are a couple of quick notes about what she's been up to.

Paige had trouble going to sleep the first couple of nights in the new house. About the 5th night, I'm rocking her in her room, she's just finished her bottle. She squirms in my lap to get down. She gets down, walks to the bathroom, comes back with her rubber duck. She climbs back into my lap, chews on the duck for a while, then discards the duck in favor of her thumb. Then she falls asleep. Perhaps the duck has become a security object??

A few days ago, Steve wisely purchased some cabinet locks (the kind that tie two knobs together so you can't open the door on either side). We installed one in the kitchen and one on the new TV stand. Last night, Paige walked into the kitchen, grabbed the cabinet lock, and pulled it right off the knobs! The bad news is, the lock didn't work. But the good news is that she was too interested in playing with the lock itself to open the cabinet and start pulling things off the shelf. We parents have learned to be grateful for the small victories!

Paige was a great help when it came time to pack up the clothes

Paige helping to pack some kitchen items

You would think she gets enough fiber from all the book pages she's eaten!

Demonstrating that the child is much smarter than the "child-proof" lock

Southern Tour

Paige's blog has been quiet lately, not because she has been idle, but rather because her whole family has been BUSY BUSY BUSY! We took a trip to Asheville NC, Beaufort SC, and Savannah GA at the end of Sept. We stayed with friends in Asheville, took a hike in the woods, ate terrific Southern cookin, and generally relaxed. Paige tried to make friends with the cat, but the cat was not ready to make friends with her. In Beaufort, we watched proudly as Paige's cousin graduated from Marine basic training. In Savannah, Paige rode the trolley with us, toured some old mansions, and spent some quality time with Grandma Joy and Grandpa Joe (while mom & dad went on a dinner date!). Paige enjoyed the view from the top of Tybee Lighthouse (thanks to me carrying her up in the Ergo backpack), however, the wind was a bit stiff! She was overall a very good traveler, managing to sleep on both flights and even get through most nights in strange places fairly smoothly.

Paige at the helm - Uncle Bubba's Oyster House Restaurant

Paige (sleeping), mom, Grandma Joy, Grandpa Joe

Strong wind on top of the lighthouse

View from the Grove Park Inn, Asheville