My 1-year-old

Newborn Kylan.

1-year-old Kylan.

Kylan has now been a year old since February 20th. It seems that now she's one, she feels as if she needs to start acting older, smarter, wiser, and even MORE active and ornerier (is that even a word?) than she already was. Maybe it's just me, but I swear that somehow she knows it and is growing up faster than ever now. At this ripe old age of 1, Kylan:


-weighs 21 pounds and 8 oz.

-is 28 1/2 inches long.

-is basically short and chubby:)

-has blond hair and blue eyes (still to the dismay of her black/brown-haired and brown-eyed parents!)

-wears some 9-12 month clothes, but mostly 12-18 months.

-wears size 2 and size 3 shoes (Depends on the brand- if it's made with a strap that we can loosen over her super-thick chubby foot, then 2's are good since her foot is small. But 3's are often necessary not for length, but for accommodating the fat foot factor.)

-wears size 3 or 4 diapers (again, depending on brand- but 4's are definitely necessary at night!)

-LOVES (and I mean LOOOOVES) food. She'll basically try anything and always wants to eat when she sees anyone else eating- no matter if she's hungry or not.

-has favorite foods: bananas, cheerios, yogurt, peas, green beans, toast, string cheese.

-does not like the taste of milk- would rather water or diluted juice.

-still nurses once a day in the morning (and only because she so emphatically asks for it by doing the sign for "milk" and looking at me with her big, blue eyes like "Mama, feed me." Once I can get over her adorable, pleading face and get her to like cow's milk more, she'll be fully weaned.)

-can use a spoon or fork to feed herself, but not very resourcefully (most ends up on her face, in her lap, or on the floor)

-has been drinking on her own from her sippy cup since 9 months.

-LOVES her cat, Kick Thunder- but even though Kick Thunder takes the "abuse" so graciously, I can't say that she likes Kylan back yet. All in due time, I suppose.

-loves all animals that she's seen in person or in books.

-does the signs for "milk", "baby", "ball", "more", "please", "cat", "dog", "monkey" and tries in some way to replicate any signs that I do, even if she can't quite do them.

-has said "duck" (which comes out more like "dut") and "ball" (which comes out more like "ba"). She says "mama" and "dada" also, but we're not sure that she always means to refer to us when she says them. Sometimes they're just part of her constant, excited baby babble that goes on all day (and is so darn cute, if I may say so myself).

-loves the outdoors. She'd rather be outside than inside any day. She can handle this Ohio cold like nobody's business.

-loves books! She spends a good amount of her day looking through and "reading" outloud from the stockpile of books she has collected over her first year of life. But even more she wants a grown-up to read TO her- so, needless to say, we have many baby books memorized by now.

-has a Baby Einstein "First Signs" DVD that is like a drug to her. She stops everything when she hears the first sound of it. It's the only thing she'll sit still for. She also will so discretely show you her desire to watch it by going to find it, picking it up, bringing it to you and throwing it in your face until you put it in.

-is ACTIVE, ACTIVE, ACTIVE! This child never stops (except maybe to eat or to be read to- but even still, she squirms through it all!) She's been walking since the very end of 9 months, and picked it up well by the middle of 10 months. At this point she's basically running around the house as fast as her short, chubby legs can carry her!

-is social. She loves when people give her attention and is always waving at every person to cross her path, whether they can see her or not, and whether they wave back or not- she keeps waving.

-knows how to ham it up with her cheesy smile and a few giggles when people give her the attention she wants.

-claps when we say "yay" or "good girl", and also to music or when she's happy.

-dances when any music comes on.

-knows (partly) how to do "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" and can follow along to "If You're Happy and You Know It" by clapping her hands and stomping her feet on cue.

-loves, and has always loved "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider"- and more recently "Old McDonald". They both are our only hope when changing the diaper of, or trying to dress an over active child.

-thinks baths are fun- most of the time. Still doesn't like water on her face, but loves to play with bath toys and splash her hands around.

-sleeps 12 hours each night, and usually takes one 3-hour nap (or a 2-hour nap and a shorter second nap later). Can't complain.

-must have Goodnight Moon read to her each night before bed.

-LOVES brushing her teeth, even though it's just water on the toothbrush.

-hugs and kisses her baby doll (which we never taught her- she just did on her own).

-loves her playgroup of about 10 or 11 other kids (ranging from 2 months old to 3 years old).

-can climb up and down stairs.

-follows simple commands well. The doctor said she understands/comprehends more than most kids her age, and can usually respond appropriately.

-is ticklish on her thighs, tummy, and under her arms.

-tries to comb her own hair.

-likes to go places like the grocery store, mall, park, other people's houses, etc. Anywhere that's new and fun and can be explored.

-has just learned to give hugs on her own! This is my favorite! After a whole year of hugging her and not always having her understanding what I'm doing (she usually looks at it as something that's stopping her from being on the go!) she has just started to come up to me and give me a big tight squeeze with her arms around my neck. I looove it.

-has known how to give kisses since around 9 months. Though, the receiver of the kisses must be ready and aware- they are usually pretty open-mouthed and sloppy. We've got to refine her kissing technique soon.

-has 8 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom).

-gives high 5's.

-is just really cute, smart, funny, ornery, adorable, etc!


Now, I know that's much too much information to take in at once (and that's even the abbreviated version!), but I had to make up for lost time. So for anyone just now picking up on Kylan-doings, that's for you- and because I want to have all that I can documented for later purposes.