Happy 12 months old!

Kendall Grace is 12 months old ... that's 1 year old ... how can this possibly be that 1 year has already passed by since our sweet baby girl was born? And what a year it has been ... God has poured out His blessings on us this year by giving us our sweet Kendall ... although we had a bit of a rough 2 month start with her in the NICU, having her home with us these past 10 months has been more than we could have ever imagined! How can it be that the love you have for your child (and your husband) just continues to grow more and more each day ... when you can't imagine being able to love someone any more than you already do ... it is just amazing how He designed us to be ... God is sooo good!

I remember Kendall's birth day very clearly (well, at least up to the point before they pumped me full of drugs, that is ... ha!) ... and all the emotions flood back (even now, as I write this post) that I felt 1 year ago ... as I was told I could no longer keep her inside me for the sake of Kendall's health and my own health ... having & recovering from an emergency c-section ... just having delivered a tiny 2 lb 6 oz precious baby girl at 29 weeks 4 days gestation ... having absolutely NO control over the situation, but knowing God was in TOTAL control over EVERYTHING (no matter what the outcome was ... which was terrifying to me, but still true) ... feeling absolutely helpless as a new Mommy to a baby girl that I had not even gotten to hold, or touch, or see, yet still feeling peaceful and hopeful that she would make it & better days were ahead of us ... asking God to do a Mighty Work in our precious new daughter's life in growing and developing her tiny body ...

And, boy, did He ever ... Kendall now stands as a 12 month old (with a corrected age of 9 1/2 months old) ... with a big story revealing just a glimpse of God's Mighty Power and His Glory that we get to share with everyone ...

Kendall is so far removed from that tiny 2 lb 6 oz baby girl that she once was only 12 months ago ... and we could not be more joyous to have our sweet Kendall Grace in our lives to make us a little family of 3 (well, 4 if you are counting our dog, too ... which some people around here would definitely count)!

Kendall has her 12 month wellness check-up with her Pediatrician Dr. Benzick on May 10, so we'll have to wait to find out her official weight, height, head circumference and all the percentiles ... I'm thinking she's about 16.5 - 17lbs, so I'm excited to see what she really weighs! In the meantime, what's been happening over this past month with our Little Miss? It is amazing to see what happens in just one month of growth and development and this month is no exception ...

the Doing ... well, she learned to officially CRAWL a couple of weeks ago and is loving getting into everything (especially everything she's not supposed to)! She loves to play with her toys ... she loves to read & turn the pages (very quickly) ... and put everything into her mouth! She pulls up to everything (and keeps trying if she's not successful during her first attempt) and loves to stand up & pat whatever she is holding onto (this is her way of showing excitement, since she's not quite clapping yet). She loves being outside, whether it's walking & being in her stroller, or swinging on our front porch swing, or rocking in the rocking chairs, or swinging in her swing, or sitting in the grass ... she loves it & the wind too! She still loves Cassie, but this month, Cassie has just been liking her ... now that Kendall is mobile, she constantly crawls to & on (& sometimes even over) Cassie while she is laying down ... Cassie lets her, but she gets up and moves around the room a lot during the day ... She is still very protective of Kendall & has to be very near us at all times. Kendall loves to babble constantly, laugh (and will stop what she's doing & laugh if she hears me or Daddy laughing ... she just joins on in!) and either "talks" to (or at least stares at) everyone see shes ... she loves to talk to other kids that we see as we are shopping or going to the school to pick up the boys ... she's quite the social butterfly! (I'm afraid I can see a future "talks too much" on her school report card ... apparently, I had a few of those, as did my mom ... go figure ... ha!) She is just all the more curious and exploratory than she's ever been and I'm sure it will just continue from now on! She just continues to be more and more fun each month and we are lovin' it!

the Eating & Sleeping ... she has really picked up her eating volume over this past month ... woo hoo! So much so, that we dropped that last 5th feeding late at night ... yippeeee ... and it's working out great! She drinks 4.5 - 6oz (we always offer her 6oz, but she takes whatever she wants) bottle 4 times a day (8am - 8:30 or 9pm), plus solids 3 times a day. She'll eat the 1st feed (no solids ... she won't do it ... she just wants to go right back to bed after her 1st bottle), then 3 hours later be ready for the 2nd feed and spaces the others 4 hours apart. She'll eat a few puffs/yogurt melts/cheerios (while I'm getting her bottle/food ready each time), 3-5 Tbls oatmeal, 4oz fruit and 4oz of vegetables (spread over 3 meals) per day ... she's really increased over these past 2 weeks and is doing great! We've been transitioning the nap schedule this month ... I'd love for her to take 2 naps, but we're not quite there yet. She's still taking 3 short or medium length ones, but we're trying to transition. She still sleeps great though ... and at night is asleep around 9p (so Ashley can spend a little time with her after he gets home from work) - 8a (or even later!).

the Clothing & Accessories ... Kendall is wearing mostly 6-9 months (9 months) clothing ... size 9 months sleepers ... size 3 Pampers diapers ... size 2 shoes, which are still really big on her, but do actually stay on her feet this month than last month (and size 0-6 months Robeeze). She still has a few 3-6 months outfits she can wear and a 0-3 month sweater (but it's time to retire that, I think!).

Happy 12 months old, Kendall! We love you so much and can't wait to celebrate your birthday with family & friends!