Claire at 12 months

Little Miss Claire Elizabeth at 12 months:

• Crosses her feet/ankles when she sits. A-dorable.
• Is very sensitive and shy. She does not like people she doesn't know very well, or groups of people, staring at her. She is altogether weary of strangers. This led to scowls during her entire 1 year photo shoot because she was so apprehensive of Jennie and her assistant! And you would have thought Dr Hansen was torturing her yesterday when she used her stethoscope. At her birthday party she bawled while eating cake because everyone was staring and laughing at her! Even after naps, she sometimes only wants to cling to Mommy.
• Sleeps like a champ. Goes to bed (drowsy but awake) around 6:30-7:00PM, wakes up once to eat around 6AM and goes back to bed until about 7:30 or so. She is taking 2-3 naps per day and they aren't super long (usually 45 min- 1 1/2 hour) so we need to work on that!
• Weighs 16 lbs 9 oz (1st percentile) and is 27 inches long (3rd-5th percentile). Her head is in the 25th-50th percentile. She looks very proportionate and just all around small!
• Loves to dance. She'll dance to almost any song- whether it's from a toy or from her tone-deaf parents!
• Has almost 6 teeth. Two on the bottom, one front tooth and the tooth next to it, and she's working on the other front tooth and tooth next to that. Teething is so miserable for her and us! As I write this, she's upstairs miserable in her crib with a strong fever and runny nose. Poor girl. And poor Mommy and Daddy (and Grandma Annie).
• Understands more words but doesn't say any yet. (besides the couple times she said and meant "mama").
• Eats better. She still can be picky but she's expanded her selection beyond bananas, yogurt, bread, and cheese. She loooves her homemade yogurt and her homemade muffins that have tons of vegetables (and no sugar) in them. She started drinking WCM (whole cow's milk) on Sunday and she loves that too!! She really likes her cheerios too. She doesn't like meat very much but she gets protein through cheese, yogurt, and eggs. She tried hummus yesterday and didn't think it was too bad!
• Isn't too fond of sharing her toys. I didn't know that started this early! She'll give a toy to one of her friends but then she takes it right back and if she can't get it back, she'll clearly demonstrate her disappointment.
• Is an explorer! She's into everything! You can hardly take your eyes off of her.
• Is pretty gentle with her cousin Brody. He joined her in daycare last Friday. When he cried the first day, she brought him her beloved stuffed lamb. She took his paci (which is identical to hers) out of his mouth a couple times and gave it to Grandma Annie. They'll be best of buds!
• Still wears size 2 shoes! Looks like she got her foot size from her Mama! She wears mostly size 9 month clothes, but also some size 6-12 months and some 12 months.