Another Present!

Brooke actually got TWO more presents today! And although it has been
a few days, guess what is still her favorite?

(hint: look at her hand)

Monkeying Around

It's Party Time!

In order to celebrate Brooke's 1st birthday, we hosted a little family get-together. There were about 25 people in attendance, and Brooke made sure everyone knew she was the star of the day :)

The morning started off great and Brooke went down for her nap a bit after 10 ... with expectations that she would wake up at 12, the time the party was supposed to start. Unfortunately, she was so excited about her party she couldnt sleep. She cut her nap short and woke up crabby. Both her Mom & Dad were a bit concerned. Turns out, we were worried about nothing. Brooke was so busy showing off that she forgot she was crabby, and in fact, stayed up about 2 hours later than she normally does for her second nap. She was awake for her whole party! Here is a little recap. Brooke greeted all of her guests with a little piano solo
There was one constant for the party - the balloon(s). Everywhere Brooke went she had to have her balloon.
She didnt have any cake, she had raspberries instead ... her favorite!!!
After raspberries it was time to open presents. Brooke didnt understand it, but Wrigley showed her how to do it.
Brooke got a lot of wonderful presents, including a baby doll ...
her very own cash register,
quite a few books,
a set of balls that she can hold in one hand,
and a ride on toy that has a secret compartment under the seat!
Brooke ended her special day by enjoying a book in her new rocking chair.
Though the party was for Brooke, Wrigley found herself quite exhausted at the end of the day :)

Brooke Is ONE!

My how she has grown...

Weight:24lbs 11oz
Height:31 inches


According to What to Expect the First Year, at 12 months Brooke...

should be able to

• walk holding on to furniture (cruise) X
• use a few gestures to get needs met X

will probably be able to

• play patty-cake (clap hands) or wave bye-bye X
• drink from a cup independently sort of
• pick up a tiny object neatly with tips of thumb and forefinger X (cleans the floor for us!)
• stand alone momentarily X
• say "dada" or "mama" discriminatelyX
• say one word other than "mama" or "dada"X (current faves are "more" & "bye")

may possibly be able to

• "play ball" (roll ball back to you) throws ball back!
• stand alone wellX
• use immature jargoning (gibberish that sounds as if baby is talking in a made-up foreign language) X
• walk well

may even be able to

• say three words or more other than "mama" and "dada" X
• respond to a one-step command without gestures ("Give that to me," said without hand out)

X means Brooke can do this at 12 months