Hellobee

This year has passed in the blink of an eye and I’m left wondering where my tiny baby has gone… she’s such a big girl now!  Chloe is a little more than 14 months old now.

Personality
Chloe’s personality is so much more defined than it was even just a few weeks ago.  She loves to run and play.  She’s starting laughing at things she sees on TV, or when she finds her favorite stuffed animal.  Her preferences are really starting to show, and it’s clear what she does and does not like to do.  She has an extremely determined personality and likes to test the limits.  We’ve had to start putting her in time out (which consists of 1 minute of her having to sit on the couch) and so far, it’s working.

We’ve noticed that she has no concept of stranger danger, and loves to be around people.  It doesn’t take her very long to warm up to a group of new people.  We went to Papa Jumper’s work holiday party a few weeks ago, and my then 13- month old walked into the room (she refuses to be carried anymore!) of complete strangers, threw up her hands and said, “HEY GUYS!” at the top of her lungs.  The room exploded into laughter.  My little girl is definitely not shy!!

Eating
Chloe’s appetite exploded shortly after her first birthday.  She’s gained a few pounds (which is great, because we’ve always been worried about her weight!) and there are times we need to take food away from her.  She had seconds on Christmas.  I swear she eats more than I do at times, and I have a pretty big appetite.

Our meals look like this:

Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs, yogurt or toast
Snack: String cheese or crackers or banana
Lunch: Wedding Soup (she loves the meatballs, noodles, spinach and carrots!) or mac and cheese with chicken fingers
Snack: Whatever we didn’t have for morning snack
Dinner: Pesto chicken with fresh tomatoes and melted mozzarella, side of pasta, cucumber slices
Snack: Cheerios, cheese curls, ritz crackers, hummus and veggies

corn, mashed potatoes, turkey, breaded cauliflower… with two forks

She has milk with most of her meals, and at bedtime.  We’ve noticed that her most favorite food is cheese, which she eats at least once a day.  We try to limit her dairy intake, knowing that she has a bottle of milk or two a day.

Her coordinating is approving, and she likes to feed herself with a fork.

Sleeping
Papa Jumper sleep trained Chloe a few weeks ago, and it’s been a huge blessing.  As hard as it was, I’m so glad to report that we can now lay Chloe in her bed and walk away without her making a fuss.  She now takes a 3 hour nap in the afternoon and sleeps 12 straight hours at night.  The entire Jumper Family is feeling much more rested!

She loves to play Mickey Mouse RoadRally on the iPad

Teeth
Chloe has 5 teeth — two on the bottom, three on top — with two molars just days away from coming through.  She seems to be handling teething much better than before, and it doesn’t seem to be affecting her sleep at all.  She does let me put a dab of Orajel on her gums, though, then gives me a kiss afterward… kind of like saying, “thanks, mom!”

Speech
HOLY WORD EXPLOSION!  When did my baby start to talk!?  Words have been popping out of her mouth left and right, and we’re often left speechless.

So far, she can say:
mama/mum
dada/dad/daddy
Jes (my sisters name)
light
up
bye
hi/hey/hello
hi guys
yes
no
me
water

Motor Skills
Chloe started crawling at 3 months, walking at 9 months, and running by 11 months.  It’s hard to believe, and most people don’t believe me, but I promise you that we have videos to prove it!  She likes to run down our hallway screaming at the top of her lungs, or run in circles around my parents’ house.  She’s starting to learn how to jump and is an expert climber.  We’ve had to re-babyproof our entire house now that she can climb onto chairs and our couch.  My brother, who plays soccer, taught her how to kick a ball around.  She giggles the whole time, but has a blast kicking a ball back and forth with her uncle.

crawling for the first time, 3.5 months

crawling & saying Dada, 6 months

walking for the first time, 9 months old

We still feed her at meal time, but she likes to use her own fork or spoon and is doing a really great job of using them correctly.  It can be a bit messy at times, but we don’t mind!  She’s extremely proud of herself and will clap after she gets food on her fork and takes a bite.  It’s absolutely adorable and always leaves me in a fit of giggles.

Papa Jumper and I both feel like her personality and abilities have really exploded over the last month or so.  Chloe is great at entertaining herself, and can easily play alone for as long as thirty minutes.  She’s becoming my little helper, and loves to “help” me fold laundry and put clothes away.  Now that she has a play kitchen, she likes to “cook” dinner with us!  This is such a fun time for us!