So my sweet little Kamy is growing up! I can’t believe it’s almost been an entire year since she was born. She’s changed our lives in so many ways and we’re so grateful for the blessing and sunshine that she brings to everyone around her.
- We still aren’t walking yet, but we’re getting closer. She’s getting quite adept at the “shuffle” and will move around furniture with drive and purpose. And often times faster than you expect her to! She will crawl to her walker toy, grab it, stand up, and walk behind it, but so far she hasn’t really made an attempt to stand or walk on her own. I have a feeling she’s going to start doing it on a moment’s notice and she won’t even realize what she’s done.
- Kamy loves pushing buttons! Especially those that make noise when they’re pushed. One of her favorite toys right now is a set of Baby Einstein books with a sound bar that clips onto the side of the books. Each of the 5 buttons on the bar play a different sound and more than half are classical music pieces. Initially she could (and would) only push the yellow star but now she’ll work her way down the buttons and listen to them all. She also loves her “Wheels on the Bus” music book and she’ll push the button and turn the pages over and over and amuse herself for quite a while.
- In conjunction with pushing buttons, Kamy got her first piano “lesson” today at Nana’s house. I’d heard stories of how much fun Keller, Garin, and Payton all had banging on the piano and I’m happy to report that McKamy is carrying the tradition on into the next generation. She seems to like the lower notes better than the higher, evidenced by her continual shift to the left.
- Babbling is becoming more consistent and interesting. She’s moved beyond just “ma ma ma” and “ba ba ba” to “rah rah rah” and “ah ah ah.” We’re working on “Daddy” but Kamy hasn’t figured out the “da” or “de” sounds yet. She is more likely to echo you and respond to your encouragement than she was a few weeks ago.
- McKamy is becoming a great waver! She’ll do it one of two ways — either open and closing her hand while reaching out to you or waving her arm around. Both a super cute and will bring a smile on any stranger’s face that we pass. This morning she even combined waving and “ba ba” as Daddy was leaving for work. I know she wasn’t saying “bye bye,” but it sure sounded like it. Super duper cute. She’s also started to wave at the cars we pass while out for our walks.
- Doors, cabinets, and drawers beware! Kamy’s coming for you! I need to seriously get around to child-proofing our cabinets now that Kamy will amuse herself opening them and pulling out whatever she can reach. While this sounds great in principle, until I get certain cabinets McKamy-proofed and safe to play with, all are out of bounds. This leads to protests as the mean-old-Momma says “no.” Fortunately we haven’t really smashed our hands badly yet, but I know it’s coming. She’s pretty careful about closing the doors but they’ll get pinched occasionally.
- Kamy is primarily eating solid foods now. While I’ve continued nursing, she drinking less per day and has compensated by increasing how much she eats at meal times. Sometimes I wonder where she puts it all! For breakfast today she ate an entire pear and two pancakes. I only ate three pancakes myself! She can easily polish off a pint of sweet potatoes, a large banana, and a handful of Cheerios in one sitting. She must have a hollow leg or a pouch somewhere that she hides it all.
- McKamy has started to drink water out of a sippy cup. I bought one of the sippy cups with a soft mouthpiece and she’s figured out how to use it. She hasn’t quite gotten the concept of raising it above her lips, but she will hold it now and will chew on the mouth until someone (usually me) comes over and raises it high enough for her to actually drink from it. This hasn’t stopped her from drinking out of water bottles or regular glasses either.
- Sleeping through the night is still a work in progress. Some nights we’ll get up once, other nights we may get up two or three times. Those three-a-nights are quite tiring on Momma! I’m still grateful that I can get out of bed, change Kamy, top off her tank, and climb back in bed in 10 minutes flat. At least if I’m going to be up, it’s fast. I haven’t decided how hard I’m going to push her to sleep through the night. To be fair, she is going to bed at 5:30 pm, so getting up at midnight or 1 am is still about 8 hours straight. The fact that I’m not sleeping those 8 hours is my own fault. =P She’s been getting up for good about 6:45 or 7 am, so it’s not too early considering.
- Morning naps have been quite successful lately. Kamy will often take a solid two hour morning nap and give me some down time and the chance to get some stuff done around the house. Afternoon naps are still hit or miss and may only be 10 minutes, but those 10 minutes are critical.
Our next doctor’s appointment is at 12 months, so I’m looking forward to getting an update on where she is on the growth charts. She’s starting to put on a little weight in her thighs, so I’m anticipating another growth spurt in the near future.
We love you Kamy-girl! We’re so proud of you — of your progress, your curiosity, your attitude. You make being parents fun and entertaining … and easy. Thank you for being the precious little bundle of joy that you are. We love you so very much!
