1-year appointment

Melanie had her one-year checkup yesterday - March 19. She weighed 17 lbs, 3.5oz (3%), and was 28 7/8 inches (about 25%). She received her MMR and chicken pox shots. She wasn't too thrilled to be at the doctor (or be anywhere, really; she was a bit grumpy yesterday morning...) but she did great. The doctor was pleased with her development, and noticed a few things she does that he wouldn't expect to see, like her squatting down and getting back up. We talked about the fact that, while she talks all the time, she doesn't have many words - and he wasn't too concerned about that, either. She does use consonants, so he thinks words will develop soon.

Top O' The Mornin' To Ya!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! It was a gorgeous day outside, and Melanie enjoyed playing on the playground at school as well as getting some good play time when she got home from daycare. She took green jello to school as a treat, and dressed in green so she wouldn't get pinched!

Outdoor time!

When we got home from Frankfort on Sunday, Melanie took her first real trip to the park! We just went down to our subdivision park area, and then walked to the grocery store - anything to be outdoors!

Hanging with Molly

I just had to include this photo because it is representative of Melanie pulling out a CHUNK of Molly's hair. Molly didn't even flinch, but I think we might need to work on some aggressiveness of Mel's :) We had a great time Saturday night hanging out with the family in Frankfort!

First Swim Lesson

Saturday was Melanie's first swim lesson, since she was sick last week. Suffice it to say, Mel was not a big fan of the swim lesson. I had two things working against me. First, she was very tired; we were interfering with nap time. When I signed up for the lesson, it seemed that 11:30 would work well because it would be after her morning nap. Well, as what happens with all babies, schedules change - and now she does a later-morning nap. So, there was that. Second, I think I dunked her too early. She was not a big fan of that. While she LOVES bathtime, it was definitely a "BIG bathtub" - and she was a little shaken. She was even sucking her thumb in the pool to help herself calm down. At one point I handed her to my mom on the sideline, thinking that if she weren't IN the pool, she would want to be. Well, that bit of psychology didn't work, nor did my playing with Molly to make her jealous :) She did get back in though, and we struggled through it. Luckily the acoustics in a pool area are such that her screams were muffled and didn't drive everyone else completely batty. The last photo above is how Molly & Melanie felt about the time the car was pulling out of the parking garage after the lesson :)

The Party Must Go On......

The Worzalas kept the Immediate Care in business on Saturday! Melanie went with a deep cough that sounded like croup. Her Grandpa Worzala went with dizziness..... Verdict: Melanie, antibiotics (no croup), Grandpa W - vertigo. Mel had chest Xrays and a throat swab, but it seems to be this lingering cold she just can't shake. She missed her first day of swim lessons, which I was bummed about, but the good news is she's in better spirits now!

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So, her birthday party went on, although sadly without Randy, Cory, Charlie and Sammie. Those kiddos just can't afford to get any more respiratory madness. We celebrated with a Curious George cake, lots of presents, and lots of love for Miss Mel! She LOVED her cake, after being a bit skeptical of it at first - daintily picking his eyeballs off before smashing in. Despite the fact it was a "low sugar" cake, I think she had a bit of a sugar high Saturday night!

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Thanks to everyone for making Melanie's birthday such a special occasion!

Happy First Birthday, Melanie Grace!

"The days are long and the years are short" is sooo true, no? Not ALL days are long, of course, but while you're in the moment, it doesn't feel so much like time is flying. Then, suddenly, you wake up and your little baby girl is ONE YEAR OLD!!! It has been a blast watching Melanie learn everything over the past year. When you catch her at a good point, she'll even hold up one finger to tell you how old she is!

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Miss Melanie is now in 6-9 month clothes, size 3 diapers, and says the words "dada," "hi" (nonstop), "kitty," and something that sounds an awful lot like Sh-t. Over and over, of course. She continues to be very happy, and very active. She likes all food put in front of her - particularly if she can feed it to herself! Bananas are back into the favorite, after a brief stint on the "possibly allergic" list. She fluctuates with her formula intake, and is currently in the boycot stage, so we struggle to get 20oz a day - although she, as her daycare provider reports, "is the first to start eating and the last to stop" for table foods. She's in a clingy stage where she doesn't like to be left - especially by Mommy or Daddy. She's developing a longer attention span, and the thing that makes her giggle the most is getting Lucas riled up. She's moving to the next car seat (still rear facing) since I can't bear to carry the pumpkin seat any more. She sleeps through the night, with a bottle at about 5am or some such time when I am not aware of the time (she has a fabulous Daddy who takes care of that!) She is starting to get to one looong nap a day rather than two shorter ones - except, of course, at daycare. She claps most anytime she hears music - even if it's a church hymn. She continues to LOVE bathtime, her silky, and her favorite toys are a choo-choo train, Tad the Frog who sings to her, her Fridge DJ, a caterpillar that plays music, a horsey on loan, her kitchen, and the stacking rings. She has eight teeth that we can see (middle four on top and bottom)

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The above photo was taken at the house today, but we also got professional photos taken. If you're reading this, I'm sure you'll be a lucky recipient of one of the 85,000 wallet pictures we got with the package :) In case you can't see the writing on the dress, it says "Birthday Girl" with a cupcake above it.

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We're looking forward to celebrating with the immediate family this Saturday with, of course, monkeys as the theme!