In the blink of an eye, my baby girl completed her first year. Can you believe it's been twelve months since this happened? Lauren's entrance into the world--a dramatic whirlwind--admittedly gave me pause when I wondered what it foretold about her personality. Thus far, she's treated us to a much milder version of life. She's an easy-going, happy child, whose sweetness pervades our home. She remains the most popular person in the house. In fact, at supper the night before her birthday, her brothers were already singing to her.
There's much joy in watching her brothers adore her. She soaks it up and beams right back at them. But they're also all little people who want what they want when they want it sometimes, and this creates some conflict. Lauren, for her part, is teaching her brothers that just because she's cute doesn't mean she's a pushover. To the best of her abilities, she keeps up with them, which lately includes climbing on tables.
Lauren is climbing and pulling up and cruising and every once in a while, we'll catch her trying to stand or step away from whatever she's holding onto. I still expect her to be a late-ish walker like her brothers but sometimes I wonder if she'll suddenly start running after Evan, instead of "chasing" him around the house by crawling quickly after him while he squeals, "Lauren get me! Lauren coming!"
Lauren remains remarkably healthy and strong. At the doctor this week, she measured 29.5" long (50-75th percentile), weighed 24 lbs. 12 oz. (90-95th) and had a head circumference of 19" (above 95th!). While I tire a bit from hearing people tell me "That's a big baby!", I'm mostly thrilled to have such a "notable" child. Of course it's totally familiar territory, because her brothers were huge infants who started to plateau and eventually gravitate to their 50th percentile size after the first year. And I know my musings about the giant sizes of my babies are old news but it still cracks me up. As I've said many times before, I have nothing to explain it except for breast milk. I've been triply blessed with good nursing experiences. Lauren still nurses about five times a day but as she starts to eat more solid food and move more, I expect her to slim down just like the boys did. For now, I'm squeezing and snuggling her perfect, chubby form as much as I can.
Speaking of eating, Lauren is enjoying more and more food beyond purees these days. Over the last month she's developed an affinity for beans and rice--especially red beans. She loves avocados, peaches, cheese and yogurt. I'm enjoying being able to feed her more from my own plate and less from my mix of store-bought and homemade purees. Just tonight at her birthday supper, she ate bite-size pieces of pizza. What a lucky girl!
Her world ever-expanding, Lauren is talking plenty. I wouldn't say she's said her first real word yet, but she does respond consistently to questions posed with something that sounds an awful lot like "Yes!" We have a lot of fun with that and ask her leading questions. She plays right along with "Yes!" and "Yeah!" and even the occasional nod. You can see some of that in this bath video. You can also see that she understands things like when we ask her to sit down in the tub and that she most definitely knows when she's being very funny and charming.
And perhaps "Yes!" is her first word, which would be really appropriate for my daughter who has such a cheerful, positive outlook on life. As I reflect on this year with her, I often think back to when I was pregnant. Before I knew she was a girl, people would ask me if I wanted a girl and I would honestly say that I didn't care whether the baby was a girl or a boy. After our 18-week ultrasound when we discovered she was a she, people would say things like "You finally get your girl!" And I would think--and sometimes say--it really didn't matter because I'd love another boy just as much. And I know that is true. But what I feel is equally true is that, after getting to know Lauren this past year, I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have been pining all along for her. Happy birthday Lala!
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