Well...this is my last update before Penelope's first birthday. She is eleven months old now and she is really starting to seem like a big girl.
The biggest update is that just a few days before Christmas, Penelope started standing. Cue the tears, and in more ways that one. Not only is she growing up, but she now needs to be completely supervised at all times...no more putting her down and thinking she won't move anywhere!
Since then, it feels like she gets more grown-up every day. She crawls right over to something and pulls herself right up. In the last couple of days, she has even started showing off quite a bit by only holding on with one hand.
We haven't started the full on baby proofing (but will in the next few weeks), but we did begin replacing some of our DVDs and other junk in our media unit baskets with Penelope's toys. She absolutely loves this! It's amazing how fast she learned that all of her stuff was in there. One of her favorite activities is to empty boxes and bins, and so this is perfect for her since she can stand right up, peer into the baskets, and remove what she pleases.
In the eating department, she continues to eat like a champ. Her favorite food these days seems to be watermelon, and her utter joy when getting to gobble up the tiny cubes totally justifies the $7 containers of pre-cut, out of season fruit. She also loves her pasta (like her mama!), veggies, eggs, yogurt, applesauce, and basically anything else we decide to give her. Last weekend I even gave her a little bit of pizza from my plate and she loved it (she is from Jersey, after all).
We celebrated Penelope's first Christmas, which was so fun and makes me beyond excited for the years to come. She got so many new toys which are so perfect for her age right now. She loves her instrument set, activity table, ride-on and little playsets the most right now. Anything with sound and lights just make her happy, especially a little egg-shaped maraca that she shakes and looks so pleased with herself. Santa brought her the
B. Parum Pum Pum Drum set and it is adorable.
Penelope has continued to sleep really well at night, and naps continue to be really tough. The kid simply hates to nap, and I can't even complain since she sleeps for 10-11 hours overnight.
Penelope still loves Mickey Mouse and so that will be the theme for her first birthday party! A few of you have asked and even suggested a 'Sweet P' theme, which I absolutely adore! I had originally planned to do something a little more color-themed (
lavender and light blue, perhaps?), but I didn't see how I could not do a Mickey party, as it really just captures her love and excitement right now. I can't wait to share all of the details with you in just a few weeks!
On a personal note, I've been spending so much time over the last couple of weeks reminiscing about this time last year. Last January was such a momentous and expectant time as I was waiting to meet my precious little girl. It just continues to amaze me how much life has changed in the last year, and I don't ever want to forget those months of waiting for her arrival. It was such a special time in my life. I also had a great pregnancy, and so I never had that 'I can't wait for this to be over' feeling, even toward the end when I was enormous and not sleeping. I really soaked up every second...every nap, every indulgent Wendy's Frosty, every Saturday morning trip to the movies and every bit of prep that this tiny little person required.
And here she is...all bundled up to brave the polar vortex and bringing joy to my life every single day. We're almost to your first whole year...pass the wine (in sadness and celebration).
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