Mona's 1st birthday!

Happy First Birthday Mona ! Every mother says " I can't believe my baby's already ONE!" So I'm not going to say it...... I'm not! ;-)

Isn't she adorable?  Haa Haa, on a side note, Jack and Nolan say adorable sometimes referring to Mona or when I look especially nice, it's pretty cute. Jack just started Kindergarten and we asked him if he made any new friends. He said " Yes, Sarah, she's adorable!" ;-)

So anyhow, for Mona's 1st birthday we had a little party at home with Strawberry Cupcakes and gifts. Britton played Happy Birthday to You on his guitar for her. She got a cute little musical "jewelry box" with lipstick, perfume and a comb. It's the girliest thing I could find and she loves it! ;-) She also got a couple of new cute outfits. I can't believe my baby is already ONE!! I had to do it.

Mona is such a sweet baby. She is so happy most of the time and loves her brothers. She isn't crawling yet which concerns us. The doctor says she looks fine but sent for a baby physical therapist to come out to our house to evaluate her. Yesterday, a physical and a developmental therapist came out to our house and played with her for about an hour or so. They were both really impressed with her fine motor skills, speech and cognitive abilities, giving her above average scores. Her gross motor ( crawling, walking etc.) however are not up to where they should be (obviously). She rolls everywhere she wants to go but won't crawl.

So, she will get baby bootcamp training once a week for a while until she shapes up. ;-) The physical therapist says she really looks great and with a few sessions she is confident she will take off and be fine. She taught us a few great tips on how to get her to exercises her core tummy and oblique muscles which are whimpy right now. She already is showing improvement! GoBaby BootCamp!

So, I thought I would jot down a few of her milestones and favorite things that she's mastered recently.

Mona's vocabulary is impressive for a 12 month old. O.k. I know I'm a biased mommy but the therapists were impressed too. ;-)

• 
  
  Mamma & Mom
• 
  
  Dad
• 
  
  Dog
• 
  
  Duck
• 
  
  Bug
• 
  
  Door
• 
  
  Bah fy ( butterfly)
• 
  
  Book
• 
  
  Up
• 
  
  Eye ( She can point to most body parts when asked to)
• 
  
  More (sign language)
• All Done ( sign language)

Mona loves mommy's cooking and has always refused to eat the jarred baby food junk. Her favorites are:

• Pasta alla Carbonara ( pasta with tempered eggs, spinach and Canadian bacon)
• Cauliflower Bisque
• Hudsput ( mixed smashed veggies)
• Brown Rice and Collard Greens
• Salmon, Rice and Greens
• Fish
• Ginger Chicken
• Tomatoes
• Baked Potatoes with Cottage Cheese and tomatoes
• Blueberries, Bananas and Applesauce

She does not like:

• Eggs
• Plums
• Cheerios
• Strawberries

Mona's favorite things to do are:

• Going swimming and taking a tub
• listing and dancing to music
• Reading her baby books. Her favorite is the "Teddy Bear" Touch and Feel book I just got her.
• Looking in mirrors and giving herself kisses
• Playing with her music boxes
• Patty Cake
• Giving Eskimo Kisses
• Playing Peek-a-Boo She covers her face with anything she comes across and tries to get our attention to play the game with her.