The First Year: Seven Months - 1 year

Unfortunately, I was not able to retrieve the pictures from the hard drive, yet. I am so bummed about it. There are some pictures backed up on cd, but not the earlier ones. So, since I am intending to continue this blog, there will not be pictures to complement it for a short while. :(

Let's continue....

Alyssa seemed to have physical milestones later than we thought she would. For example, while other babies I knew were eager to start crawling at 7 months old, Alyssa was content with sitting and playing with her toys or propping herself up on all fours, as if to tease us. Finally, towards the end of Alyssa's 8th month, she did it. She started crawling. She became a new baby. You can see the excitement, her world was redefined. She could now explore the house without the help of us. Our world changed, too. The baby gate became our friend. Not long after crawling, Alyssa started pulling herself up to the side of the furniture. She had a lot of confidence. She was walking with the help of the furniture when she was 10 months...cruising.

By the time Alyssa was 11 months old, 90% of Alyssa's diet was of solid food. She nursed twice a day, but it seemed more for comfort than nutrition, so I weaned her. I gave her formula until she was 1 year. It was strange giving her a bottle, something she didn't care much for. Her transition to a sippy cup was simpler. She also started drinking cow's milk at 1 year old.

Alyssa said simple words, like "va-va" for Velvet, our dog. I believe that was her first word. Velvet was so patient and good with Alyssa. He must have felt like a big brother, as he probably still does now. Alyssa was allowed television. We didn't think it would hurt. Her favorite shows were Blue's Clues, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street and her number one favorite, Clifford the Big Red Dog. She has a nice collection of Clifford stuffed animals even now. It's amazing how much a person grows and develops in one year. Our reward for being a part of that is seeing character and personality take shape. It's pretty cool.