Dear Peighton,
So much has changed since I last wrote in February. I vow to be better about writing to you since everyday brings something new...a new word, a new "trick", new excitement! First of all you turned one last week and it was a wonderful day. It was a quiet day since you father and I just bought a new house for you to grow up in. We moved the day before your big day so we had balloons and cupcakes and singing but did not host a party. Maybe for your second birthday we will have a big shindig since I have been feeling bad about it lately. I really wanted your first year to be celebrated with a lot of your friends from mom's group around but they are all back in Massachusetts. I think you had a ton of fun eating cake and playing with the balloons that I blew up for you. You also opened your gift of Megablocks and have been having a lot of fun with them since.
Last Wednesday, May 18th you started walking...really walking. You have been experimenting with taking a few steps in between your father and I for a few weeks but that day you had the confidence to walk - unprompted and steadily. It was fantastic! I have been so excited for you to walk because you are very mobile anyway due to the speedy crawling you do. Now, you don't have to have your hands all over the floor. Walking does mean a whole new world for you and you really seem to love doing it. You are so adorable, you put both arms up in the air and wear a smile so big and proud. I really enjoy watching you toddle around the house.
Then, ah, the house. One of the reasons your father and I loved it so much when we looked at it is because you seemed so comfortable in it. You crawled around and pounded on the doors and windows. We both really loved it too so we went ahead and put in an offer. After a lot of back and forth the sellers finally went for what we were offering and, boom, the house was ours....just like that. It was a relatively smooth process and seemed to be very quick. Today we are settled into the home but we still have some empty rooms that we need to fill so I am taking you furniture shopping almost every day. I am not so sure how much you enjoy the furniture shopping but you are making the best of it. If I can find a safe couch to put you down next to, you have a blast banging on the couch cushions.
Your recent trip to the pediatrician brought a little concern. You have never been a big eater but I have been trying since your 9 month visit to get you to consume more calories because you had dropped from the 40th percentile to the 20th. Well, apparently, I was not doing a good enough job making sure you were chowing because you had dropped to the 10th percentile at your 1 year visit. You are 29 inches long and 18 pounds, 4 ounces. You had two shots - Hep A and Prevnar13s. You also had to have blood drawn for the first time to check for lead exposure and to test the iron levels in your blood. Everything looked good other than the weight so we now have to be a little more strategic about the way we feed you and when. It's pretty hard to get you to eat when you don't want to though so here's to hoping you start noshing on the yummy foods we give you because if you have not gained enough weight at your 15 month visit, the doctors might want to start looking for a problem and that doesn't sound like fun for me or you. Start chowing honey!
Right now you are protesting your nap. You have been upstairs playing in your crib for 35 minutes but will not go to sleep. Your playing has turned to crying so I guess I should sign off and go try to get you to go to sleep. To tell you the truth, it doesn't seem promising. You are certainly a girl who knows what she wants and when. I can't blame you though, it seems you simply take after your mother as far as that goes. Sleep has never been a big thing for you but I must remind you that you are a growing baby and you need your sleep my dear. I love you!
Mom
