Junebug: 12 Month Update

June Larsen
 12 months

weight: 15 pounds  5 ounces (1 percentile)

height: 28 inches (9 percentile)
head: 44.25 centimeters (28 percentile)

teeth: three
hair: just barely coming in!

favorite toy: doll
favorite food: yogurt
interested in: climbing
just learned how to: stand in high chair
causes mischief by: trying to play with dishes in dishwasher
loves to: watch videos of herself on phone
    words: dada, dog, mama, bye bye, bug 
 

I sometimes think that I might be boring people if I do traditional monthly or weekly updates on Junebug so instead it ends up all just being kind of sporadic.  I couldn't remember the last time we updated the life of the bug, so I figured here goes, let's update this girl! 

At 12 months, this baby is our little June the explorer.  She can't walk yet, but she can crawl like a bandit and she is all over the house on her hands and knees, opening cupboards, discovering baskets, swallowing dog food.  Her favorite activity is to put things in a basket (or box or bucket) and then take them out again, and then put them back in and then take them out.  She is a great little independent player, but also loves it when Greg or I join in on the fun.  She is a bit behind on her gross motor skills- she has just started pulling herself up but still does not cruise or walk.  At the suggestion of her pediatrician, she is seeing Kids on the Move this week to hopefully speed up some of those skills.

June is a chatter box.  The words she has definitely mastered are (in this order) da-da-da (dad) duk (dog- she says it anytime she sees Maverick) and finally in the past week or two, ma-ma-ma-ma.  She talks all day long, having nonsensical conversations with herself.  She waves good bye and hello and claps her hands when she gets excited.  She also throws her food from her high chair- that trick is just the cutest.

June is a people watcher.  She will sit on your lip in a crowd full of people and just watch and watch and watch.  She doesn’t squirm or try to join in, she just watches.  The more people, the more action, the better.  She loves music and large crowds and lots of commotion but always would rather observe than participate.

June is a social bug.  She mostly prefers babies and other small creatures (Maverick is her favorite) but if other babies or animals are not there to entertain her she will settle for adults.  She is just getting to a stage where she is more picky about who holds her.  If mom or dad is not holding her she usually just prefers to be put on the ground to wander and crawl and explore on her own.

As of last week, June is weaned.  I am really happy about it!  And I’m also really sad about it.  For a few weeks I was trying so hard to wean and to lessen the feedings and then one night a couple weeks ago June was fussy and tired and I tried to wrap her up in my arms and nurse her.  She looked at me, looked at my offering, and then turned her head at it.  I was so confused.  She didn't want to nurse?  I tried again.  She refused.  And refused.  And then when I put her in her crib she crawled right up and fell asleep.  No bottle.  No nursing.  No nothing.  Just like that, she didn't need me anymore to go to sleep.  I was so excited and so sad.  It was the strangest thing and totally unexpected- I had been so ready and anxious to have her weaned, to have her off of me, to have my body back to myself.  And then, in the middle of my yearning for weaning, June up and decided, "Okay mom.  We can be done if you want."  I had everything I ever wanted and instead of happiness, all of a sudden a wave of sadness and nostalgia hit me that I couldn't quite understand.  How could we already be done with this phase?  How could it be that she doesn't need me anymore?  Will I still be her ultimate sense of comfort and love and peace without the nursing?

People need to warn moms about this kind of stuff, you know.

June is an expert sleeper.  She sleeps 10-12 hours at night and then usually takes two naps during the day.  Her first nap can go up to three hours while her second nap is usually 1-2 hours.  The morning after her birthday she woke up at 7 am to nurse and then went right back to sleep until 1 pm. 

June is a terrific eater.  I think it confuses people because she's so petite that you'd think she eats like a bird, but that girl pounds her food.  She loves oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, oranges, and avocados.  She's a huge fan of soup blended up in the baby bullet.  She loves all fruit and most vegetables.  She is getting to the stage where she wants to feed herself but that spoon rarely makes contact with her mouth when June's driving.  She also loves chocolate, ice cream, and chocolate ice cream.

Oh, just eating dog food for lunch.  NBD.

After one full year of June we can safely say that having this little girl join our family has been the biggest and most surprising joy of our life.  She makes everything more fun, every activity more enjoyable.  We will never get enough of her jabbering, her slobbery kisses, or her infectious giggle.