Life with Lottie - 12 Months Old

Chris and I are absolutely loving this stage. Charlotte is just so much fun. At 12 months, she was already understanding a good bit of what we said, saying a few things herself, making hilarious noises, mimicking everything, and going, going, going non-stop. While she didn't start walking until 13 months, she was getting around very well. Here are some moments from month 12:

Her favorite word is Airplane, which she learned from the toddler I watched for a couple of months. It took about a week for me to help Lottie pair a picture of an airplane with the word.

She also knows what sound an elephant makes. She will do this if you ask or if she sees a picture of an elephant. She still can't say elephant, but she sure knows what they are. I included a clip of Chris doing his elephant sound, so you can see what Lottie is trying to imitate.

She also loves to chatter. One morning, I got the cutest video of her talking to Finn. In the middle, you see her point to Finn and say "Baby."

She is really starting to enjoy activities and really interact with what is occurring. We have taken her to feed the ducks a few times (like here), but these are the pictures from her first trip.

Two blue herons were fighting over the pond, and they came within 10 feet of us. It was really cool.

We tried her water table for the first time, which is basically a small pool to her. She loves it.

Finn just hanging out in the background

Crawling in

Those regular diapers sure fill up. She was rocking some serious diaper sag and about 10 extra pounds.

After a little bit, we had to cover up our fair-skinned red head.

All in all, we just have a great time with her.

Chris showing Lottie a picture of his mom, Sonja

Playing with her new farm

Lottie saw Daddy mowing, so she climbed up into the dog bowl to wave and point at him.

Lottie coloring a giant card for Chris

Daddy time 

Sweet girl

First Birthday

I love birthdays, so I was so excited to celebrate my daughter's first birthday. We started out the day by giving Lottie her first present, a play kitchen, which Chris and I had stayed up late the night before assembling. It was our first late night toy assembly experience but probably not our last. 

She loved it--totally worth all the time.

Daddy teaching Lottie how to drink her tea properly

Taking birthday calls

Then, we enjoyed a pancake breakfast, Lottie's first pancakes ever. They were a huge hit, especially with the syrup added.

After lunch, we skyped with Paw-Paw, so he could see her open her gift from him. He gave Lottie a swing, which still makes her giggle every time.

That evening, we did a group Google Hangout with Poppa, Gigi, Uncle Brian, Aunt Sarah, Luke, Aunt Carrie, & Uncle Jeremy while Lottie opened her other presents.

We gave Lottie some books and a water table with tons of water toys for it. We had a great day goofing around with the goose, playing in a tutu, opening gifts, and just celebrating our precious girl. 

Well, and let's be honest, celebrating that we made it a year!

Lottie is Walking!

The goose is walking. After several weeks of toying with the idea, she finally did it.

Lottie took her first steps April 28th. She was just playing after dinner, and we happened to glance over at her in the kitchen as she decided to take her first steps. Of course, our independent girl did it on her own in a separate room with no one around. She only took a couple sets of 2-3 steps.

Two days later Lottie came down with her first ear infection and all walking was put on hold. Finally, this Friday, she just upped and started walking all over. If she falls over, she will even stand back up and continue walking instead of just crawling like she did before. It is almost her default way to get around.

That's my sweetie pie--walking for Mother's Day!

First Birthday Party

We were blessed to celebrate Lottie's 1st birthday with our family at the best place in the world, the Aero-Bee Ranch. We decided to do a Giraffe themed party since Lottie has shown a love of giraffes. I had a blast coming up with ideas on Pinterest and making them.

A special thanks to Sarah for making the giraffe streamers

As I mentioned here, the cake was quite an ordeal,but I was very happy with how it turned out. 

After decorating, we dressed Lottie in her special birthday outfit.

We started with presents while the goose was still clean. She was getting pretty good at opening them.

She received so many fun toys and several great outfits. We are so thankful to everyone!

Then, it was time for cake.

First bite

Lottie kept smiling like this at Uncle Brian--she was enamored with him.

The aftermath

It doesn't look so bad from afar, but cake was every where, including caked in her hair.

Getting clean while enjoying her new bath toys from Poppa & Gigi

Here is a 3 minute video of clips of Lottie eating her cake. She didn't go crazy (after all she is a lady), but she definitely enjoyed herself.

Fun Feeding the Ducks

We went to feed the ducks today. We met Megan and her Charlotte. It was great getting out of the house and into the beautiful sunshine with a friend.

A sweet bonus, there were a whole bunch of sweet ducklings that came right up to us.

Check out that red hair

Finn (the sweet baby I watch) watching the ducks

I put the poor guy in a little girl hat

Chris surprised by showing up during his lunch break. He has been working so hard preparing for boards, so we treasured this unexpected time with him.

Could I have a more beautiful family?

Afterwards, Megan & I took the kids to Chick-fil-a for lunch.

It was a very fun day with Daddy and friend time, ducklings, ducks, geese, turtles and Chick-fil-a. What more could you want?