Gracie is such a happy and sweet girl. I have mentioned many, many times how everyone is always commenting as to how happy she is. She has such a sunny disposition, hence why she is my sunshine. She is such a joy to be around. She makes me smile all day every day. She is a very funny girl who loves to laugh and be laughed at.
At 12 months Gracie is definitely on the move. She has mastered walking. In fact, she has gotten so good sometimes she seems to almost be running. She learned quickly she needed to move fast to keep up with her sister and brother. She is quite the daredevil. Today, she climbed on the step stool and was so proud of herself. We have to keep a constant eye on her because I never know what stunt she will try to pull.
Gracie communicates amazingly well for only being 12 months old. She says "mama", "dada", "bubba", "hi", "here" (sounds like "he" but I know what she's saying), "alli" and we are all pretty sure she says "Ella". It is so neat to hear what comes out of her mouth and to see her language develop. She's also really good at communicating without words. Today she showed me she wanted a snack by bringing me to the pantry and pointing. She is getting really good at pointing too.
Graceyn is really getting into her toys more and pretend playing. She loves to play with balls and books. She will sit for a very long time just flipping the pages of a board book. She also loves to listen to stories now. At night, she will now sit still and listen to entire books while sitting on my lap. She also really likes her brother and sister's toys. They are really good at sharing with her. She also likes to bring things to me and pretend feed me. She gets quite a kick out of it. Her new favorite "game" to play with Joey and I is keep away. The other day she had a little piece of paper in her hand. I said, "Bring that to Mommy". She was so funny because she would walk over to me, hold our her hand, and when I reached for it she would yank her hand away and get the biggest smile on her face. She loved it and it had Joey and I laughing so hard.
Gracie is finally, finally, finally sleeping through the night!!! It took her one year, but she finally has decided to sleep all night long. I could not be happier and I am loving every single good nights sleep that I get!
Graceyn continues to have such a healthy appetite. She continuously amazes Joey and I at the foods she likes. She is such a healthy girl. Her favorite food is definitely black beans. She would eat her weight in black beans. Her other favorites are yogurt, hummus, peas, meat, and crackers. One day she was sitting in her highchair watching me make dinner. I took peas out to add to dinner. She started throwing the worlds biggest fit because she wanted some. I quickly cooked some and gave them to her. She was as happy as a clam. We are really trying to continue to encourage her eating habits in the hopes that she isn't picky like her siblings.
Graceyn will always be my baby, but it is starting to become a little more evident that she is entering the toddler zone. We are starting to see some tantrums when she is not happy. She has recently decided she does not like getting her diaper changed. She also doesn't not like to be held or carried when she wants to walk. She is fiercely independent and puts up quite a stink when I get in the way of her freedom.
With all of our traveling, we were super late with Gracie's one year appointment. We went today and it went really well. She now weighs 19.8 pounds (44%) and is 29.6 inches tall (53%). She is nice and proportionate. Her iron levels were also perfect (all the meat she eats I think). The doctor said she looked perfect and was pleased with her growth and development.
Last Saturday, our amazing photographer, Shannon, came over for a one year session. We did a cake smash. Shannon is amazing and captured some wonderful shots. Gracie really did not get on board with the cake. She tasted a bite and kept making a face like she was eating a lemon. She really has never had anything very sweet and very little sugar, so I think it tasted very weird to her. We did manage to get her to play in it and we got some good pictures. As usual, Shannon took too many good ones so I am posting a ton on the blog. I just couldn't narrow them down. These shots definitely give you a good idea of her personality.
Now that Gracie is a year old, I think I will be writing her updates every 3 months instead of monthly. We love our little sunshine to pieces and we are so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful and special little lady in our lives!
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