favorites.

Elleanora,

I never thought a baby could make me laugh so much. Whether it's the way you blow kisses to every mirror and stranger you see or the way you grunt when you bend down to pick up a ball that is double your size. You are an entertainer.

You have plenty of favorites. Wallets are way up there on the list... any kind of ball, red plastic cups, taking clothes out of drawers, Nonna's sauce with meatballs and ravioli, big pillows, 

and screaming "Papa" whenever you feel like it. You're also loving green smoothies these days, which makes my heart so happy. Favorite shoes? None yet.. because you don't really wear them. Your feet are just a little too chubby.. see that sore on your foot up there? Yep, too tight. We'll figure it out.

My favorite thing about you? I think it's when you climb up on your little chair, cross your legs and make your hilariously, heart-warming sounds while turning the pages of a book. You. Love. It. And you just really love life in general.

Kisses,

Mama

12 months.

Ok, it's true. I blinked, and an entire year has passed. 

Let's do a quick milestone overview, shall we?

At 2 1/2 months, she cracked a smile, and we heard the sweetest giggle for the first time.

At 3 1/2 months, she was rolling over and doing cartwheels around the room. Also, she was holding her bottle (when I supplemented) and started sleeping 11 hours through the night (!!!). 

At four months, the swap from the bassinet to the crib happened. 

At 5 1/2 months, she started the army crawl

At 6 months, she started eating solids/sitting in her highchair (get the OXO highchair, people)

At 7-8 months, the crawling stage began

At 9 months, waving and blowing kisses

At 10 months, "da-da" was uttered 

At 11 months (late)... walking! saying "ma-ma", "hott", "bye-bye", "baby", "up", "papa", "nonna", "ball", "thank you" (sorry, this is merely for me to remember) 

At 12 months, she held her first almond butter and jelly sandwich and ate it like a big kid; I thought it was a pretty big deal. 

to listen

"The word obedient comes from the Latin word audire, which means 'listening'... Jesus' life was a life of obedience. He was always listening to the Father, always attentive to his voice, always alert for his directions. Jesus was 'all ear.' That is true prayer: being all ear for God." - Henri J.M. Nouwen 

Sometimes my daughter demands my full attention. Being her mother for almost a year now, I know the difference between her hungry/sleepy/teething/dirty diaper cries and her "whiney for no reason, cater to me and ONLY me" cry. Learning to ignore the tantrums or to take action and discipline takes practice. The easy thing to do is to just give in to my child's tantrums, allowing her actions to control me. 

This aspect of parenting reminds me of the loud, anxious thoughts that can take over my being. I have a choice: I either sit back and let the anxious thoughts control me or I discipline my mind and heart to listen to the Holy Spirit's guidance. Learning the discipline of solitude is key in this. Anyone who's human knows how hard it is to cut out time in the day to be quiet. There are too many distractions to count, but I can make excuses for the rest of my life, and that will get me nowhere. It's a constant battle, but like any discipline, it gets easier as time goes on. So, a year from now I will look back on this post and have this completely down. An hour of solitude every day.

Haha, Right.  

My goal right now is 15 minutes of complete solitude each day. 

It's doable, but we'll see...