Update on Development - One Year Old

The girls are one year and three weeks old today.

I haven't updated their growth and progress in quite a while. When you see your kids every day, it's easy to forget how fast they are growing, and to take it for granted. Since part of this blog is to act as a substitute to a baby journal, I want to record their development. So please bear with me as I indulge in some Daddy bragging . . .

KATHERINE - Wt: 19 pounds, 1 ounce, Ht: 30 1/4"

Katherine at One Year Old.
(click on photo for larger view)

Katherine is walking very well. In fact, she is running now. It's as if her brain wants her body to move faster than it's able to. So even though she's walking much better than she did even two weeks ago, she's falling a lot more because she tries to run everywhere. But Katherine is a trooper -- she just gets right up and continues what she's doing.

Katherine is also very talkative. She is now pronouncing a range of consonant and vowel sounds. "Doo" and "Baa" are commonplace, but her favorite sound sounds like "Hey!" She loves to scream that at the top of her lungs at home, in the mall, at the supermarket -- everywhere. Yesterday, Katherine said, "Woo-woo" and "Ga-ga" for the first time. I thought babies only said, "Ga-ga" in the movies, but I guess I was wrong!

Katherine will also say "Da" or "Da-da" for Daddy, and "Ma" for Mommy, but we still aren't 100% sure she's connecting it to us. However, it makes us happy to think she knows us by name, so we're assuming she IS connecting it to us!

Katherine is still a mellow baby in many ways, but inquisitive in other ways. She is mellow in that she let's her sister Caroline pull her hair, push her down, and take her toys, and will not fight back. She just takes it. If she's really annoyed, she will cry, but for the most part she does not hit back at her sister. She will take the occasional toy from Caroline, but that's the exception. Usually, she will just move on to a different toy if Caroline takes hers.

Katherine is inquisitive in that she loves to explore around the house. She will spend each morning watching our cat Tabby eating just outside our screen door. She will pound on our front window watching our neighbor take his dog out for a walk. And she will scream "Hey!" to complete strangers who catch her attention in the supermarket.

Katherine goes to sleep very easily for the most part. She takes her bottle around 9 pm and is out with a minimum of fussing.

CAROLINE - Wt: 17 pounds, 6.5 ounces, Ht: 30"

Caroline at One Year Old.
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Caroline is her Daddy's daughter. Fussy like Daddy. Cranky like Daddy. Yet also extremely happy.

Caroline laughs a lot. While Katherine smiles often, Caroline LAUGHS. She has a giggle that she will break into often, and that many times evolves into full-throated laughter.

Caroline likes to dance. She has two favorite dances at this age. If she hear "The Wheels on the Bus" song, she will swing her arms side to side while twisting her upper torso (picture someone playing with a hula hoop). We have no idea where she learned this, because we've never seen them do this in day care.

This is Caroline dancing to "The Wheels on the Bus".

Her other favorite dance is to stand in front of you, have you hold her hands, and then shake her whole body and throw her head back while you support her arms and sing to her at the top of your lungs. She doesn't care what you sing to her, although she is partial to something with a little bass. I've tried to capture this dance on video, but it's hard because the video camera causes her to stop dancing and try to reach for the camera.

Caroline's walk is not as good as Katherine's yet, although she is getting better every day. If you've ever seen the movie "Frankenstein" you pretty much know how Caroline walks. But Caroline so wants to do whatever Katherine does, so if Katherine walks, Caroline is not far behind her.

Caroline can be a bully, I must admit. She will take toys from Katherine, and she fusses if Katherine tries to take a toy from her. She also thinks it's funny to grab Katherine and other kids at daycare from behind and pull on their shirt. For now, we try not to laugh, and hope our admonishments of "No, Caroline. Gentle touch," will eventually pay dividends.

Caroline's language skills are developing well, although she does not repeat specific sounds as often as Katherine does. However, Caroline will babble for long stretches. It is not uncommon for her to sit in front of you while playing, babbling all the while, and then look up at you, and wait for you to respond. All you have to do is say, "Really, baby, that's interesting. What else?" and then she will continue to babble for another two minutes. I really believe she thinks she is having an intelligible conversation with you!

Caroline is fussy like Daddy because when she decides she is upset, she REALLY gets upset. She can go from happy to tantrum in a wink of an eye. And when she is tired, you better have a bottle for her quick.

Together

Taking a Nap Together.
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The girls like to talk amongst themselves. Many times now they will wander off into their room to play by themselves, while Terri and I clean up the kitchen or living room. Then, in the privacy of their own room, you can hear them talking and laughing with one another as they play.

It's also worth noting that they do not cry as much when they are playing alone. You will hear occasional cries of indignation, but the cry usually subsides quickly, and they resume playing. If Terri or I are in the room, however, you often get a full-scale melt down from the injured party. It's as if the girls know that crying is useful only when someone is in the room to see it!

One of the best parts of the day is the early morning. The girls are usually in a very good mood in the early morning. And on many days, they will wake up at the same time. When that happens, they do not cry out, but instead each stands up in their crib, and they face each other and babble quietly to each other until Terri or I comes into their room to pick them up.

These are our girls at one year of age. Happy birthday, ladies!