The Big ONE !!!

Baby Ash is now ONE, can you believe it? She is so much fun. She has grown so much and has accomplished so much the past several months. On her actual birthday, she got her first haircut and it looks like she too will have wavy/curly hair. EATING: She eats whatever we put in front of her - except for cow's milk. She is not a big fan of milk - unless it comes from Mommy. Because supply is low, I only produce enough to nurse her at night. So, during the day (at the sitter), she takes two 8 ounce bottles (5 oz. of breastmilk mixed with 3 oz. of cow's milk). However, my frozen milk stash will only last another two weeks. At that point, she will only get Mommy's milk at night when she nurses (which will end in May). We did discover that she may have an allergy to food dye. Her birthday cake gave her a rash all over her face that lasted about an hour. DRINKING: She only drinks milk and water (no juice, yet). She does well with a sippy cup, especially the ones with a built-in straw. She really likes to throw her sippy cups on the floor. She even feeds the dogs from her highchair- shame on her! WALKING: She is almost walking. She took her first steps in late February and wants to walk really bad. She will take 5-7 steps before losing her balance and falling on her bottom. She looks so cute when she walks and the expression on her face is adorable. If walking will not get her to her destination, then she will crawl her little heart away to get there. TALKING: She babbles all the time and we just act like we know exactly what she is saying. She says: ma-ma, da-da, baba, ga-ca (cracker), dah (dog), and la-la. SOCIALLY: She loves being around other children and strangers. However, she screams when most female family members try to hold her while I am in the room. She screams when my mother holds her - which breaks my mother's heart. We don't know why she does that - hopefully it is just a phase. She also pretends to be shy sometimes. When somebody talks to her, she makes the cutest little "timid" face and hides her face in my chest (or Daddy's). She loves playing with Big Sis and with our dogs. She does have a temper. When she has something and we take it away, she definitely shows her disapproval, usually by screaming and flailing her arms. Baby Ash loves watching her big sister. She learns so much from her and tries to do the same things big sister does. KB loves to draw, color and write. Well, last week, Baby Ash grabbed a crayon and started to color on the paper just like her big sister. It was just too cute for words. MUSIC: She loves to dance and listen to music. When hubby pulled out his saxophone to practice, she sat right in front of him trying to put her hand in the bell. She also loves it when we sing to her. She can move her little hands/fingers to "Itsy Bitsy Spider." HEALTH: She goes to the Dr. on Friday for her 1-year check-up. When we took her to the Dr. two weeks ago for an ear infection, she weighed 20 pounds. Speaking of ear infection...can you say "thorn in my side?" She has had 4 infections in the last 8 months. So, we are visiting an ENT specialist on Monday to see what the next step will be. Let's keep our fingers crossed - no tubes, please! However, we will do whatever it takes. Well, that is it for now. I will update after the Dr. appointments.