One year.

Whoever said babies get easier as they get older, was WRONG! One-year-olds are a whole new ball game. Although I am totally enjoying Linna's little personality, her little personality comes with attitude and drama.

Linna has learned what she likes, and if she can't have it when she wants it, the whiney drama ensues. For example, she loves playing outside, which is great! But, the second it's time to come inside, she has a fit! These little melt-downs usually happen when it's close to nap time, but they make me want to pull my hair out. AJ and I have decided to work together and not give into her little tantrums and it seems to be working. Linna understands the word "no" and she usually listens. If she has something or gets into something she's not supposed to, we take it away, say no, and direct her attention to something else.

Getting SO big!

A majority of the time Linna is a happy little 12-month-old, and she is SO smart. She can point to people when we ask her "where ___ is", she knows here her tongue, tummy, nose, and eyes are, and she loves dancing to music. She can say mama, dada, papa, lala, baba, hi, and thank you (comes out more like "geh geh"). Tonight she made the sound of a duck when we asked her what sound a duck makes. Linna isn't walking on her own yet, but she does walk around holding onto furniture. We're thinking she's waiting to show off her walking skills in Singapore! She's still taking two one to one-and-a-half hour naps, and sleeps 12 hours at night. We switched her to whole milk at about 11 1/2 months, and she drinks about 12 ounces each day. We're still giving her a bottle in the morning and at night, but we're planning on "quitting the bottle" when we're in Singapore. I wanted to let her have something to suck on during her first flight, in hopes that her ears don't pop.

So hard to sit still.

At the pediatrician yesterday, Linna weighed in at 20 lbs. 14 oz. (46%) and 29.5 inches (62%). Her pediatrician says she's "growing gorgeously". Linna did catch a cold this week, but her only symptom is a running, booger-y nose. Otherwise, she's as active as ever! I thought about holding off on her one-year vaccines until she was feeling better, but after talking to her pediatrician, we decided to go ahead and do them. Linna wasn't running a fever and our pediatrician put me at ease, saying she would do the same with her kids. Plus, it's not a good idea for Linna to travel overseas without getting her vaccines. So she got four shots on Monday, and I've never seen Linna so upset. The older she gets, the worse her reaction is for me. She was SO happy right before, but then her face turned all red and she SCREAMED for 10 minutes. I hate when she has to get shots, but I know it's necessary.

We did switch Linna's convertible car seat to forward-facing, and she loves it! I know that the AAP recommends that you leave your child rear-facing until two years, but Linna is SO bored facing a blank chair. Plus, let's be honest, this isn't the first time we've gone against what the experts recommend. Linna was a tummy sleeper since she was three months old, and we started feeding her solids at five months instead of six. As a parent, you have to do what you feel is best, and what keeps you "sane". Everyone has their own opinions, but WE are the parents, and would never intentionally put our child in danger.

I'm so excited, yet a little nervous about taking Linna to Singapore in just FOUR DAYS! Thinking about 19 hours on a plane with a one-year-old makes me super anxious, but we gotta do what we gotta do. Time to get going and get packing! We hope you will follow our adventures while we're in Singapore, and we look forward to returning to Minnesota in November!

I love looking back at all of Linna's "month" photos. It's amazing to see how much she still looks the same, yet so different...