As usual, I am late posting Campbell’s monthly updates. I am sorry, future Campbell–I promise it doesn’t mean I didn’t care, just that two kids and graduate school are keeping me busy! It is hard to believe we have had our sweet little Campbell in our family for a whole year. It seems like she was just born yesterday! For Sam’s first birthday post, I used the AAP headings to help make sure I covered everything, and I think I will do the same with this one. Here are her stats!

Physical Appearance and Growth:
Weight: 19 lbs, 6 oz (25%)
Height: 30.25″ (80%)
Hair: enough to wear a bow, but I can’t wait till there’s more to style
Overall appearance: darling

Movement:

We got a bit of a scolding from the doctor when we reported that Campbell was not yet cruising. Though she can pull herself up, she rarely does, preferring instead to pull to a kneel. I just figured we should wait until she starts pulling herself up naturally but the doctor told us we need to be standing her up and encouraging her to cruise. So we have been doing that over the past few days and she has started cruising a little. At first, she couldn’t figure out how to sit down on her own, but now that she’s mastered that, she rarely stays standing. She would rather crawl around, which she is much better at. I am hoping she gets excited about walking soon–I don’t want another lecture at her 15 month appointment!

And though she may not be walking, she does love to dance!

 

Hand and Finger Skills:
Campbell likes to feed herself using a spoon lately, though she’s not that good at it! And she has started to pretend feed herself from empty food containers. She has started pointing to things and blowing kisses. She loves putting toys in different containers and then dumping them back out again.

Language:
Campbell can say hi (her first and favorite word), mama and dada (although I wouldn’t say she really calls us by name), bye bye, uh-oh (sounds like hoo hoo), and thank you (sounds like dah dah). She knows the signs for more, milk, and thank you and has started using them regularly and with a lot of urgency! She definitely understands more of what we are saying. She will usually turn when you call her name and will respond to questions like “do you want some bread?” with the “more” sign. She also really likes to shake her head yes or no when you ask her questions, though obviously she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

Social:
Campbell loves saying “hi” to people. If she hears anyone talking, even if they are on a different floor, she will start shouting hi over and over. She adores her big brother Sam and loves interacting with him (although she really doesn’t like when he hugs her–I think because she feels like he is restricting her movement). Sam and Campbell share a room and some mornings we can hear the two of them babbling, talking, and laughing. It is super cute. Campbell wakes up from her nap before Sam so we go get him together and she gets so excited when we start walking towards his door that she starts bouncing and squealing!

Emotional:
Campbell gets really angry if you take something away from her or don’t give her what she wants right away. She has perfected a pretty cute little scowl! She has also started trying to bite us when she is mad, usually if she is pinned down in some way (like if you hold her hand back so she doesn’t grab something). She is not very good at hitting her target yet, so thus far Ben and I have avoided getting bitten but poor Sam has not been so lucky. Campbell doesn’t seem to have any separation anxiety but she has a little stranger anxiety, though that comes and goes.

Eating/Sleeping:
Campbell is a pretty good eater, though you can tell from her 25 percentile weight that she is not THAT into food. She eats everything we eat at meal times, plus has a little yogurt snack every day which she goes wild for. We have transitioned her to cow’s milk in a straw cup, which she has done pretty well with, though she likes to spill milk all over herself! She sleeps 11-12 hours at night and 3- 3.5 hours during the day. She takes two naps every day except when she has preschool on Thursdays. She refuses to sleep there.

Campbell, you are such a sweet little girl and we are so glad you are in our life. We can’t wait to watch you grow! We love you sooo much!

–Mommy, Daddy, and Sam

PS: here are some pics from Campbell’s first ice cream at Jason’s Deli at her birthday lunch and then later in the day, her first cupcake.