We are now in the ‘life with a one year old’ stage. It’s an exciting time, that is also nerve racking and exhausting and though life is speeding by at a mile a minute,  I am loving every moment. We got over the chaos of a trip back to Vancouver for the birthday party and all of the unpacking that went with it. This week has been filled with busy ‘mommy and me’ dates to Mother Goose at the library, crisp Fall walks along the river, trying to get errands done, and a bit of housework here and there. Amidst all the usual day to day activities, I am in awe of how much baby development has occured. It really was just last week that Hallie was taking her very first steps in an uncoordinated fashion. Over the course of two days she has been cruisin all over the house. A bit wobbly here and there of course but man can that girl get around! Speech has really sped up as well. Before we were getting a lot of ma-ma-ma-ma and da-da-da-da and for a good week or so, everything was ‘baby’. Now she is spitting out long convoluted sentences that are jam-packed full of baby words. I know that it’s only a matter of time before her sounds make actual words! I pray to God that her first word isn’t f#ck! With the baseball playoffs on in our house full-time and a husband who gets very INTO the game, I would not be a bit surprised if it was her first word. I have gently been reminding him to curb his language so that we can prevent this. Two other areas where we seem to have leaped bounds are eating and sleeping. My girl is a picky eater. She takes after her father and seems to have this thing with texture. If it’s slimy then there is a good chance it’s taking a flying leap off of the highchair tray and into the dog’s mouth. How obliging of her. But the last few days she has been  quite the hungry hippo and taking down whatever comes her way. My doctor jokingly said that Hallie could be the kid at daycare who shares all of her snacks. Her size indicates she could miss a few meals! Bless her… and her thighs! Sleeping has been good as well; though I don’t like to say it too loudly or even think about it as I fear doing this will jinx everything. Lets just say I feel slightly rested and that is a win in any momma’s book.

So that was a recap about all of the good. With the good always comes the bad my friends!  TANTRUMS! WTF. I thought tantrums came when your child could communicate. Apparently they happen because they can’t. It could be closing a door so that she can’t get into the bathroom and play with the toilet bowl water. It could be trying to sneakily hide my brand new iPhone 6 so that she can’t slobber all over it like my last phone and destroy it. It could be time for stroller or her carseat, and god forbid a strap-in harness keep this girl down. She will let the whole world know vocally that she is not down with whatever I am doing.  I am learning, episode by loud episode, not to let it get to me and to carry on with the task at hand. But holy crap, girlfriend needs to settle down.  Oh and then there is the teeth. How many teeth can naturally be cut at once, I wonder. Even my doctor was like ‘whoa that is quite a few teeth at once for her age!’. Every baby teethes in their own way and every parent ‘parents’ in their own way. We are advocates of the amber necklace and occasional use of baby Advil and Oragel when things get very bad. Many parents, some that I know as friends or family even, are against medicine for babies and it is totally cool, for them. We are a bit wussy in this house with pain though so that is the solution that has been working for us. I also know these days are numbered so I am not too worried!

That about sums up where we are at these days in the life of ‘One’. I am quickly learning that every single day is full of new challenges, new defeats and of course, new accomplishments. This crazy world of parenting just keeps going and flipping each day sideways and all we can do is hope we are doing a decent enough job that keeps our babies happy (and alive!).  Time to enjoy a Saturday night because who knows what Sunday will bring. =)