twelve months old

Happy First Birthday, Mirei!

January 25, 2015 By Misono in Milestones, Mirei Tags: 1 year old, 12 months old, baby, birthday, first birthday, letter, Mirei, one year old, twelve months old

Dearest Mirei,

Happy first birthday! I woke up this morning to you smiling up at me and I held you close, thinking of all the ways you’ve brought so much joy into our lives in the past year. We have watched you grow for the last twelve months, and we couldn’t be more proud to call your ours. How quickly you have gone from a tiny bundle of helpless newborn to a toddler who scurries around the house, sneakily grabs things from tabletops, and eagerly imitates our every gesture and sound. You are a sweet, bright little girl with an infectious smile, wide eyes that seem to take in everything (and not miss anything!), and a stubborn streak a mile long. You have such boundless energy and curiosity, and seem fearless in wanting to touch and grab anything and everything you can.

While pregnant with you, I had spent so many nights dreaming of you, wondering what you would look like, worrying about whether you would be healthy and happy… if you would be as perfect as I had imagined time and time again. I was afraid about whether I had enough room left in my heart to love another baby after investing so much love and care into our first. All of those worries and fears melted away on a Saturday morning exactly a year ago when they placed you in my arms and I knew that everything was just as it was meant to be.

Your first few months seemed a blur of constant breastfeeding and pumping, trying to balance caring for both you and your sister, sleeping (or attempting to sleep), and just making sure we were all surviving. This first year with you has flown by seemingly faster than our first year with Mio, but there are definite milestones that stick out, that I know I’ll always remember — your first smiles, your first time rolling over, your first time eating solids, your first attempts at crawling, and your first steps… and of course, memories of firsts as a family of four — our first summer with you, first family trip, first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and first New Years with you — all made so much more special because you were now a part of it. You’ve enriched our lives so much more by becoming part of our family, and it really so much more complete.

My love for you is immeasurable. Every time I see you and every time I hear your voice, I fall more in love with you and driven to be a better, stronger, and kinder mother. I feel so grateful to be able to love you and your sister in this life. Just knowing you, my life is complete. Thank you for being ours, and for reminding me every day of the extreme blessings Iâ€™ve been showered with. For drawing me even closer to the other people I love. For showing me that this is how life is meant to be lived — full of color, emotion, challenges, and messes. I will always love you and be here to support you and listen. That when you are 5 or 16 or 50, you will know that my arms will always be ready to embrace you and that you are loved as you are -â€“ nothing more or less.

We canâ€™t wait for the gift of this next year with you, to see where the road to two will take us next.

Mama

Twelve Months Old.

January 25, 2015 By Misono in Mirei, Mireiâ€™s Monthly Photo Tags: 1 year old, 12 months old, baby, Mirei, Mireiâ€™s monthly photo, monthly photo, one year old, twelve months old

Mirei is now one year old! It’s amazing how fast a year flies by, and I feel like it passes even faster with the second child! I can’t believe this is the last of our monthly photo series of you, and it makes me a little sad to see it come to an end, despite how much work it has been. I’m so glad we’ve been able to document your growth like this, though, as you have really grown up so fast in the past year that it’s really been a blur! I know we’ll look back on these photos and updates with fondness and smiles for years to come, just as we have done with your sister’s.

(Iâ€™ve been taking photos of Mirei sitting in my white desk chair and wearing her monthly onesie every month until sheâ€™s one year old.)

Previous Photos:
One Month Old â€¢ Two Months Old â€¢ Three Months Old â€¢ Four Months Old â€¢ Five Months Old â€¢ Six Months Old â€¢ Seven Months Old â€¢ Eight Months Old â€¢ Nine Months Old â€¢ Ten Months Old â€¢ Eleven Months Old

The Rundown at Twelve Months…

Stats: You now weigh 23 lbs 6 oz, and measure 29.5 inches tall! You have seven teeth now, if you include the new ones that are each almost fully grown in from the top and bottom. Your hair has grown significantly in the past couple months, and we joke that it looks like you’re sporting a mullet! You’ve nearly outgrown the 18 month size in clothes, and we’re moving you up to 24 months now.

Things You’re Doing Now: You are more curious than ever, and we’ll find that you’ll find things from different rooms that you’ve snuck into around the house, and move objects from here and there. Sometimes, we’ll have been looking for a missing item for days, only to find you randomly walking around with it, as if you had found it for us! You love oranges and clementines and if you’re able to get your hands on one, you’ll run off with it and dig your teeth into them, and we often find them lying around after you’ve given up on them with bite marks and missing patches all over the outside peel. You have a voracious appetite and love eating, and are curious and eager to try everything we’re eating. You even picked up a big kid’s juicebox the other day and just started drinking out of it — we were surprised you knew exactly what to do, when you’ve never had a juicebox before! You love to get ahold of my phone and press down the “home” button until voice control comes up — you’ve called several of my contacts by accident this way, much to my chagrin. I can already see that you’ve got a stubborn side to you and when you’re upset, you definitely let us know it by letting out very high-pitched, shrill screams and wails. You repeat sounds (like sighs and scowls), as well as simple words, and you now say “bye-bye” and wave when seeing people leave. We’re concerned because you have been scratching your back and waist area a lot lately (perhaps due to the wintry air drying your skin out), and it’s left some really visible red scratchmarks on your backside — but otherwise, you’re very healthy, and we’re thankful for that. You and Mio have really started doing more things together, and it really warms our hearts to see you both dancing to music together (your dance moves being bopping up and down), chasing each other around screaming, or her doing peekaboo from behind either side of your chair and you giggling your head off! You love everyone in your family so much, and we are always taken by how much love and affection you always want to give — that’s probably why you’ve won so many of other people’s hearts, too!

Twelve Months Old.

April 2, 2012 By Misono in Mio, Mio's Monthly Photo Tags: baby, Mio, month-by-month, monthly onesie, monthly photo, twelve months, twelve months old

Mio is one year old today! I can’t believe a year has passed already and I feel like I need a whole separate post dedicated to a reflection of the past twelve months with you… but for now, here’s the last of your monthly photos. It’s bittersweet to see this series coming to an end, but you can bet I’ll still keep detailed records of your growth — just no longer with you in your monthly onesie! (You are getting kind of old for onesies anyway!)

(Iâ€™ve been taking photos of Mio sitting in my white desk chair and wearing her monthly onesie every month until sheâ€™s one year old.)

The Rundown at Twelve Months…

Stats: You weigh 2l lbs 7 oz according to our home scale (which is not the most accurate machine in the world), and you have stayed relatively the same in weight for the past couple months. A lot of people comment on how tall you are, though, and of course what an enormous head you have! You are in between 18 month clothes and 24 month clothes sizes now, and are wearing items from both sizes now.

Things You’re Doing Now: We can really tell that you are understanding what we are saying lately, as you’ve become a lot more responsive! When we say, “more?” you make the sign for the word “more” with your little hands. It seems that you have “bye bye” and “pai pai” (your way of saying “oppai”, or Japanese for breastmilk) confused, as when people say “bye bye” to you, you often wave and then sign “milk.” (lol) As always, you love your baths, and when we say, “ofuro” or “bathtime,” and sign “bath” to you, you sign it back and speedily make your way to the bathroom. When I say, “taberu?” and make the sign for “eat,” you immediately know it’s time to eat and cling to me so that I can take you to the kitchen to be fed — a food lover, just like your parents! While your verbal language is still limited to a couple words, using sign language has really opened up a fun new world of communication with you! You also nod a lot in agreement with us, and occasionally shake your head in disagreement at other times. You love going outside and will jump at every opportunity to step out the door when it’s open. You understand that you need your shoes to go outside, so you’ll sometimes pick them up and bring them over to show that you want to go out and play. Your appetite is also quite fierce these days, and you seem to always want more! I feel like your stomach is a bottomless pit sometimes and worry about overfeeding you, but it’s a great sign that you are healthy and growing. You’re an expert at walking now and hardly ever stumble. Lately, when I pucker my lips to kiss you, you lean your cheek over to help me plant my smooch! You often wrap your little arms around my neck when I hold you, and squeeze back with all your strength — they are the first hugs you’ve given me, and they are the sweetest! I could receive a hundred million of them and still never tire of them.