12 Months Old - 1 Year Old!

Stats?
About 18 lbs 4 oz (25%) and 28.5 in long (25%) - petite and proportioned.  :)
She's in size 3 diapers and her 9-12 month clothes.

How is she sleeping?
No change here.  Sleeps from about 7:30pm to 7:00-7:30am.  Naps about 9:30-10:30am and 2:00-4:00pm.  The girl likes her sleep (most of the time, of course, we all have those days). 

How is she eating?
We've been working more on giving her whatever we are eating and she prefers that. In fact, if you try to feed her Cheerios or other snacks while you eat something else, she whines.  I'm still nursing her about 2-3 times a day and we are planning to wean her over the next month (we started a little this month, but I'm taking it gradually).  I can't believe I nursed her a full year; it seemed impossible at first, but I'm so glad that I stuck it out.

Doctor Visit
She checked out great.  Doctor says she's just perfect and is on track developmentally on the whole.  She got some vaccines that weren't supposed to affect her, but they did.  She would not nap without being held all afternoon.  But, she bounced back pretty well the next day. 

What new tricks does she do?
She's all over the place - she continues to cruise really well and her transitions from laying to sitting and standing have improved a lot.
She'll push anything around to get where she wants - chairs, toys, etc.
We've coaxed her into walking one handed a few times, so we'll see how that goes next month. 
She's tried standing on her own for a few seconds here and there and does well until she figures out that no one is holding her and she suddenly gets shaky. 
Verbally, she's still babbling away and we still can't make sense of it most of the time.  We've gotten cat (without the t at the end of course).  We're still trying to teach some signs, but no progress yet, we'll see.

General Observations?
She still has 6 teeth so far, though we suspect 2 more may be on their way.
Her little personality is really starting to shine.  She's friendly, smiley, determined, stubborn, curious, and generally happy. 
This months photo session was tricky; she just did not want to sit still.  We had to give her the book to flip through just to keep her from climbing out of the chair.  She's SO active!
Can't believe it's been a year... time flies!


Until next time... Enjoy!

First Birthday Party

Another picture heavy post... just a bunch of pics from Naomi's First Birthday Party! 
We had a lovely party with our immediate family. 
Thanks Terah for taking these photos! 

Christmas Clips...

Here are some random pics from Christmas that I never posted...

Reading my Baby Elf book

Christmas Eve Morning

Fun with tissue paper

Me and Grandma T

Me and Uncle Alex

My new red chair

Pulling the hat off my head

Me and Grandpa Ken

Merry Christmas!

I ran out of cards before I ran out of people to send them to this year.  I saw this coming so I prioritized family first, then friends who sent us one, and then I was out of cards (actually a couple people in group two even got left out and I'm quite positive that I missed a couple in group one as well).  The end result is that I didn't get to send a card to a LOT of our dear friends.  Now I know with even more certainty that I am blessed and that I need to plan ahead better next year. 

All of this to explain why this is my Merry Christmas to you (if you are among all the wonderful people to whom I didn't end up sending a card).  On the upside, it's one less card you have to feel slightly guilty about throwing away at the end of the season.  So here is the digital version...

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

the picture from our card

Our annual Christmas letter with highlights of the year:

We welcomed Naomi Katherine Culp into our loving arms on January 10^th of this year.  She is such a blessing.  It’s been amazing to watch her grow and develop over the past year.  She is a sweet, social, happy, smart, clever, and beautiful baby girl who babbles and cruises around the house.  I can’t believe we’ll be celebrating her first birthday so soon!     

Although we had two trips planned, we decided to forgo them to stay with our baby and to save some money.  So, our travels this year have included trips to Houston for a wedding and to Austin to visit Brian’s mom, Emily.  We learned a lot about traveling with an infant.  There were a lot of moments that weren’t funny at the time, but are now.  J 

Brian actually changed jobs in October of this year.  He is now a Service Delivery Manager with Vertex.  It was a really good career opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.  He’s been getting to know his new role and is really enjoying it. 

Brian continues to pursue his bachelor’s degree part-time at the University of Texas at Dallas (still making excellent grades).  We can see a light at the end of the tunnel – on course for graduation in spring of 2013. 

I was laid off from Microtune back in February while on maternity leave (yes, it’s legal as they laid off most of my department in a company acquisition).  I went on one interview and came home crying and hoping that I didn’t get the job because I just didn’t want to leave Naomi.  We talked… we crunched numbers… and, my new job of being a stay at home mom is what I will happily be doing until we decide otherwise.  I never thought I’d be a stay at home mom or love it this much.  I even got a sewing machine for my birthday (still figuring out what to do with it); just call me Suzy Homemaker.  Life can be pleasantly surprising. 

I returned to teaching Jazzercise when my medical leave ended.  It’s been challenging to get back in the groove, but good for me. 

In October, we completed the Dallas 13.1 (a half-marathon) with Team World Vision to raise money for a clean water project in Africa.  It was the hardest half we’ve done (it’s our 3^rd one, but the 1^st one post-baby) and we had our slowest time, but we are so proud to prevail and to have run for such a worthy cause. 

We truly can’t believe all the changes that have happened this year and how much we have been blessed through it all.  Looking forward to seeing what God has in store next year.  Wishing you and your family a very joyous Christmas and a great start to the New Year! 

Love,
Brian, Christine, and Naomi Culp 

Oh The Places She Will Go...

More blog catch-up...

This is a picture montage of all the various places I have found Naomi after letting her explore a bit on her own.  (Sorry for the quality - iPhone pics can only be so good.)

Playing with Mommy's magazines

Playing in the Pantry

Trying out cat food

Playing with plastic ware

Please ignore her blue socks - she had them on overnight and we weren't going anywhere, so...

Grabbing the toilet bolt cover (which she then trys to put in her mouth - ewww)

And, places that I haven't managed to catch on camera (since I was busy trying to remove her from said places) include:
the paper shredder (which is now off and unplugged when not in use)
attempting to get in the cat's water bowl
standing on top of the fabric toy container (she fell before I could snag a pic)
and a half dozen other places that aren't as gross or dangerous

My Pink Eyed Girl

Catching up on posting old blog posts....

Naomi started showing signs of pink eye last Friday and woke up with a raging case of it on Saturday morning particularly in her right eye.  

Don't I look pitiful?

So Saturday, we took her to an after hours pediatric clinic (the place was recommended by a friend and I really like it - regular co-pay and all about the kiddos).  She was her usual happy self.  

Wordless Wednesday

Riding my zebra... and sometimes sliding off my zebra... (once again, sorry for the camera phone quality pics, but it's handy).