Major Milestones

The last 10 days or so have been some of the most exciting and significant for us as Delaney has hit some incredible milestones.  All in the last 10 days Delaney has:

-          Turned 1! 

-          Started walking!  She took her first steps about a month ago, but in the last month she has only taken 5- 10 steps at a time.  A couple weeks ago she started walking more, but always holding someone’s hand.  Then on Saturday she woke up and decided that she was done crawling.  And our determined little girl has been walking ever since.  She falls on her butt often, but always gets right back up and continues on course.  It is truly amazing to see her walking and no one is more amazed and proud of this new skill than Delaney herself.  She is playing more with the older kids in the neighborhood, exploring new places, even more curious and vivacious than she was before! 

-          Quit the bottle!  After receiving the doctor’s blessing last week, we stopped bottles cold turkey.  We had been looking forward to this day for a year.  Bottle feeding was always our biggest struggle.  We have been practicing with a straw sippy cup for the last 4-5+ months so Delaney now gets all her milk (still 16-24 oz a day) from the cup. 

-          Quit nursing!   I am very proud to say that I breastfed Delaney for a year and provided her with exclusively breastmilk that whole time.  I calculated that my body produced over 120 GALLOONS of milk.  Talk about feeling like a cow…  It was not easy, and there were many bleak hours pumping in public restrooms, airplanes and rental cars, but it was rewarding and I was sad to stop.  It was our special time together every day.  Not having to nurse or pump all day every day is extremely liberating though.  I took my first trip last week without having to lug around the pump, and it was AMAZING! 

-          Expanded her vocabulary.   She seems to learn a new word every day.  So far she can say Mama, Dada, Baba, Daa (for Dakota), babluhbluh (for banana), light, car, flag, book, baaa (bottle), egg, cheese, uh oh, ne ne (Japanese for sleep), bye/byebye, hiii, hello, ball, birds.  For other things she points and says “THIS!” or “THAT!” (we don’t really think she is saying “this” or “that,” but that is what it sounds like.)   She can also make dog, lion/tiger and gorilla sounds.   All other animals are “woof woof” to her. 

-          She is also understanding an incredible amount, both in English and Japanese. 

With major changes and development every day, we are trying to enjoy every moment!