Tall and Thin…Which She Does Not Get From Me

The past year has gone by far too quickly and in spite of my wishing that she would stay a baby for awhile longer, Malia is growing like a little weed. She had her 12 month well child check this morning. She is 29 ½ inches tall (64%) and weighs 19 lbs. 15 oz. (30%). She is advanced in verbal skills and small motor skills and lags a bit in gross motor skills. We are not too concerned about the lag because the doctor says she still falls in the normal range and I figure she lags because she has three doting older brothers who willingly do everything for her. In addition, she seems to be afraid of falling and therefore is more cautious about pulling to stand up and taking steps. But she still seems to be doing everything she should, just at her own pace.

In addition to saying “bath,” Malia has about a dozen other words that we can understand. She is beginning to tell us “wet” when she needs a diaper change and will say “no” and shake her head when she is in opposition to her current situation (like when we clip her nails-she will shake her head and say “no” over and over). She is a social laugher and will laugh whenever anyone else laughs. She is a bit of a finicky eater, but is slowly expanding her food repertoire. She is just beginning to pull to standing, but is very cautious about the whole thing. She prefers to be barefoot because she uses her feet to hold toys so she can use her hands to play with them. She doesn't cry to let us know she is awake in the morning; she laughs. She definitely makes our lives a lot of fun!