Belle's 1st Birthday- Part Quatre: The Doctor's Appointment and The Photo Dump

Checking back on some of these month-to-month posts I'm realizing I was a bit overly optimistic about Belle's eating habits: "She's finally getting used to it!"-nope, "She's doing much better now!"-nope. She must have taken a couple good bites the days I posted or something. The reality is, she's still largely uninterested in solids and sippy-cups. Pretty much still exclusively breastfed. There are moments in the middle of the night when Belle has been nursing for a couple hours when I say "No more Belle. NO MORE!!!" But the other %99 of the time, I'm cool with it. I will nurse until Belle is done nursing. If that's not until she turns 2-years-old, that's okay with me.



I used to apologize all the time for my parenting style. "No Belle doesn't eat food," "Yeah Belle goes to bed later than most adults," "Yes she sleeps in our bed with us," "We do everything wrong here okay!??!"



But then I saw Blossom on TV hawking her new book "Beyond the Sling." (So apparently her name is really Mayim Bialik and guess what, she's a doctor so this book is credible.) The book touts "attachment parenting" a style that insists on breastfeeding, sleeping together, slings over strollers, pretty much just being attached to your baby all the time and doing everything I do. Derived from attachment theory in developmental psychology it declares that doing all of these things is natures way and produces emotionally stable children.



So now when someone looks at me with crazy eyes when I say I sleep with my baby, instead of being a weenie about it I just say "I'm an attachment parent! Get off me dog!!"

So I went into Belle's 1-year appointment armed with this phrase providing the pediatrician deserved it. But she said we're cool. Belle can eat (or not eat) whatever she wants as long as I'm cool with breastfeeding forever (which I am.) And if she's getting in the hours of sleep she needs- she's getting in the hours of sleep she needs. She's developing normally- in most cases, better than normal.



Belle runs- that's early.



Belle says words. (Babies at this ages are only expected to say 1, maybe 2.)



Those words are "Mommy," "Daddy," "Ghee-Ghee" (Twinkie), "Hey!," "Hi," "Bye-Bye," "Yeah," "No."



She's still an amazing dancer.

She makes smooching noises.



Sometimes she blows her kisses.



She waves a lot now.



She points a lot now.



Belle is still in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th for height. (A little under 20 pounds and around 30 inches tall.) She's mostly wearing 18 month outfits. Width-wise she can do smaller, its generally a length problem. Girl's "always growing out of her pants"- a favorite phrase I remember my Grandpa Rasmussen saying- because it was used while reminiscing about my Dad as a 13-year-old.



Belle was not digging the zoo this day. The polar bear and tiger were a little much.



Thankfully she had her body guard, Cora, there to protect her.







She did enjoy Mr. Singer's musical story time however.









We got a visit from Nayree this month!



Cora's birthday party was the weekend before Belle's.



Curious George themed.



We all loved it.



Sundays, Danny and I teach the Sunbeams (3-year-olds) in the kindergarten room of the school building our church is temporarily leasing. Belle told me she thinks it's more fun than Relief Society and Sunday School.



Look at this cake



Baking is not my forte. So we had some trial runs for Belle's birthday.





And her she is being her usual crazy self. At least she is wearing a diaper...