Height + Weight: 28.5” // 22 lbs 9 oz 

Milestones: Although she started walking at 10 months, it’s amazing how much her skills have improved in such a short time. She can easily walk all over he main floor of the house, going from room to room and picking up various toys, pushing kitchen chairs around, and making funny noises as she chases Coco – all without falling down. And when she does lose her balance, she’s usually right back up and at it again. 

She’s still saying “dada” a lot and we’re not sure if she always knows what it means, but when Craig came home from a weekend trip recently, she yelled it right when he walked in the door. I wasn’t there to see it, but I’m betting it was one of his favorite moments yet. We’ve been working on the word “duck” because she loves to walk into her bathroom to grab her duckies out of the tub. She calls them “dut” and says it all the time! She’s started saying “ToTo” for Coco, “dird” for bird, and she’s trying to say “dog,” which comes out as “dod.” I’m also teaching her to say “toot!” when she honks the horn on her cozy coupe that she got as a birthday gift from her grandparents. So cute!

Lastly, we hit a huge milestone together: making it to a year of nursing! Before she was born, I’d hoped we could make it to a year, but I really had no idea how it would go. Thankfully, things just clicked very early on, and our little journey was successful. As you can tell, she’s never looked underfed. 😉 I’m so thankful we got to hit this important milestone together, and while I’m thrilled to be done with the pumping aspect, I’m a little sad to be completely finished with this phase of her life. But now… onto other things that I know I’ll also cherish!

Likes: Food! This month, she has tried grapes, cornbread, cantaloupe, part of an ice cream sandwich, arancini balls (which she wolfed down!), pasta, polenta, veggie burgers, strawberry yogurt, shrimp, and birthday cake! 

She has discovered how to open and close doors, and she likes playing with and throwing all the pink balls we’ve acquired. 

Her favorite toys are our iphones (of course – every baby is obsessed with them!), my car keys, Coco’s toys, kitchen magnets (sensing a theme here that none of these are actual toys?)…. and she also loves her musical toys and plastic bucket of shapes.

She loves being clapped for, and she also enjoys saying “ooooooo!” and pointing at random things/the air. 

Coco is still her favorite, and she now loves walking over to wherever she’s laying so she can “pat” her on the back – several times, and usually not so lightly. Thankfully, Coco is incredibly patient and gentle with her.

She likes playing in the bathtub, doesn’t mind having water poured over her head, and opens wide when it’s time to brush her little teeth. 

Dislikes: Being put on her changing pad for diaper changes is pretty much the most offensive thing ever. 

She’s starting to get mad or upset when she’s told “NO.” She slaps her hands together – almost like she’s wiping away the “no.” We can’t help but laugh. 

Fun stuff & firsts: Craig’s family got to keep her for the first time (when she was actually awake) while we were in Franklin to host a wedding shower. Aside from her peeing everywhere while sweet Cassie was changing her diaper, I think they all had a pretty good time together! 

We recently moved everything out of the basement bedroom and set it up as a playroom for L, and she absolutely loves it! It’s like she knows that it’s a space made just for her. She has a little table in the middle of the room that’s covered in foam blocks right now, but I envision her using it for playing and coloring as she gets a little older. We’ve moved most of her books into that room, filled the walls with felt animal heads and some of my funny hybrid animal illustrations from college, and added foam floor tiles and a mini ball pit. It’s a happy place and I’ve had so much fun decorating and setting it up for her.

Leighton sleeps an average of 11 hours a night (hallelujah!) and is working on becoming a better napper. She’ll currently nap twice a day for 45 mins – 1.5 hours, depending on the day. She eats three great meals each day and will try anything we put in front of her — usually with both hands. 🙂 If she doesn’t like it, she usually throws it across her tray or just drops it on the floor while looking at us, like she’s daring us to scold her. 

She has learned to “dance” when prompted or when music comes on, and her signature move is what my dad called “the bobble head.” Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling” will guarantee some head-bopping moves almost every time! 

Her 5th, 6th, and 7th teeth are coming in this month. She’s going to have way more chompers than I did when I turned one! 

It’s hard to believe that this first year with Leighton has come and gone so quickly, but it’s been the most joyous year of our lives. She is our everything, and we are so thankful to have been chosen as her parents. We couldn’t imagine life without our LL!