Birthday Girl

20 pounds, 29 inches of sass. I spent the previous 11.5 months writing about how Naomi Janelle was our easy baby. Now I find myself trying to figure out if whining, crying and screaming simply come with being a 1 year old (girl)... or is it that Venesa and I have cornered the market on producing attitudinal females. Granted, we can at least say that it's still easy to make her laugh with jokes and tickles (She'll laugh when you laugh. Jasmine, on the other hand, didn't smile until she was 2... kidding)... but she's certainly cranky when she wants to be. Two days ago, I told her "no" (which, in her defense, she is really good about obeying 99% of the time) and this crazy child dropped down on her belly and started doing snow angels on the kitchen floor as if she had completely lost her mind. This is not learned behavior, ladies and gentlemen. She has never seen such a thing in this household. That was the innovative spirit of pure unadulterated sass.

In other news, Venesa can proudly say that she made it to the 12 month mark with breastfeeding baby number 3. In hindsight, the little hunger strike that Naomi put on a few weeks ago turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it prompted Venesa to make deliberate efforts towards the weening process. They slowly went from feeding every few hours to 3 times a day, to twice a day, to one feeding at night. And as of Naomi's birthday, the milk factory is officially shut down. Hoo-rah.

As for Naomi's milestones, our wonderful angel (snow angel?) has taken as many as 10 steps at a time, and will walk the length of a football field if you give her a finger to hold on to. However, crawling is most certainly still her preferred mode of transportation. I can't blame her, she's about as stable on her feet as a one-legged pirate (which of course has not stopped her from climbing both flights of stairs), and our combination of brick and hardwood floors don't exactly conjure up confidence when it comes to falling. She's turned the corner on nighttime sleep (8 to 6 or 7) and is still a really good eater.  She loves to communicate, though we haven't a clue what she's saying just yet. I kid about her crank, but overall she's a healthy, happy baby who's relatively easy to please (feed me, then pass me to mommy). With that said, I guess we'll keep her.