So Alana turned 1 year old on November 11th. We didn’t make a big deal out of the birthday. I feel a little bad about that, but Alana sure doesn’t care. Alana was getting over a cold anyway. We had a lunch to celebrate her birthday, and we were going to let her have just a little bit of the (not-too-sweet) mango cake, but she didn’t want any. As for developmental milestones, she seems to be EXACTLY on track with what Growing Child tells us to expect at 12 months:

Social/Emotional * Gives objects on request. * Imitates hand and face gestures such as waving bye-bye, clapping hands, closing eyes. * Helps with dressing by putting arms out for sleeves and feet for shoes. * Seeks and finds hidden toys easily. * Is affectionate toward familiar people.

Motor (Fine) * Holds spoon but needs help with its use. * Moves blocks in and out of small box. * Uses pincer grasp (thumb and index finger) to pick up small objects or pieces of food. * Points with index finger toward a desired object. * Uses both hands freely but may demonstrate a preference for one.

Motor (Gross) * Pulls to standing position and lets self down by holding on to furniture. * May stand alone for a few seconds. * Sits well for an indefinite period of time. * May creep on all fours. * May walk independently.

Communication * Imitates adult’s playful sound making. * Recognizes own name and turns to speaker when hearing it. * Follows simple directions: “Give it to Mommy,” “Come to Daddy,” “Clap hands.” * Babbles a lot with rhythm and variations in pitch.

Some of the personal changes that have been the most fun for us is that she understands and responds to “give me a kiss” (and occasionally even does it on her own). She also gives high fives now. Both are weak baby versions of those actions, but I suppose I’ll cut her a little slack on that (since she’s a girl).

Alana is eating lots of different foods now, and so far no problems. She’s not crazy about some foods (pumpkin soup for one), but doesn’t seem overly picky. So that’s good!

We’re trying not to let her watch TV too much, but she really loves “Best of Elmo 2,” and I gotta say, some of those musical performances are quite amusing (and catchy).

Finally, here are a few of my favorite photos from the photo shoot we did for her first birthday: