Hellobee

This month has been a whirlwind of fun and activity in the Hopscotch household! I couldn’t wait for Mr. H to send me the 13 month photo so that I could share. A couple of weeks after her first birthday, Miss H took her first steps!! It was incredibly exciting, and even more exciting that I was home for it (working out of the house 5 days a week, I hate that I miss so many things). It was just a relaxed night after work and Miss H decided to walk from me to Mr. H! While she’d been “cruising” for quite awhile around furniture and holding onto our hands or pant legs, we didn’t think she was quite ready to walk. Well, we were obviously wrong! And she’s getting faster and more sure of herself by the day.

The past month has also brought a lot of new words for Miss H as she mimics a lot of what we say and definitely has her favorite words – go, more, baby, etc. We’ve taught her to point to her different body parts – head, hair, toes, tummy, etc – and her absolutely favorite is her toes. It is too cute! She also has learned the word “no” and is very clear to shake her head and say “no, no!” when she doesn’t want something. However, she hasn’t quite learned that when I tell her “no” that she should stop what she’s doing! She loves going toward my jewelry in our bedroom and says no while she inches closer! I think she understands what the word means and she knows certain things are off limits, but she doesn’t want to abide by the rules!

We’ve also transition from weekly pictures to monthly pictures, and quickly learned how hard it is to get Miss H to sit still! This month’s photo was finally captured after about a million shots of her crawling across the room.

What we’ve learned: To be much more “in the moment” with Miss H. We now have the joy of truly interacting with Miss H and spending time with her. Because she’s now old enough to really notice who is with her and engage with that person. So now our time is much more quality time and I think we’re both exploring that as parents – what activities we can do to really be playing with Miss H.

What we’re enjoying right now: Walking! Miss H is everywhere now. It’s been exciting seeing her get more confident with herself and not just walk a few steps, but walk clear across the room! Which also means she’s starting to get into everything and be much more curious about the world around her. But she’s definitely loving life as a newly minted walker and we’re enjoying spending that time with her.

What our biggest struggles are: Trying to figure out Miss H’s schedule. She consistently takes a morning nap but the afternoon nap is hit or miss. So we are starting to investigate shifting her schedule and making a slow transition down to 1 nap. Wish us luck!

What has been Miss H’s most exciting milestone: Obviously her first steps! This was hands down one of the most exciting moments – she was very proud of herself and it was so much fun that Mr. and I were right there with her.

What we’re looking forward to: Getting some nicer weather so that we can really be out and about this summer! Last summer Miss H we just a wee little baby and I felt stuck in the house a lot. I’m excited for nice weather and more flexibility in our schedule to really enjoy our time on long walks and at the park!