Memoirs of a Martin: Brynn Tracker: Twelve Months

The Story
Oh, my tiny love- where to even begin? This month Brynn got closer and clooooser to walking. She took a few side steps pretty regularly during the month. Without fail though as soon as she realized what she was doing she said- naaaaah and plopped to the ground. Then, all of a sudden, the day after her birthday she started walking like she'd always been doing it. I'll post more on that in her quarterly post since it technically wasn't in this month but I love the milestone so much that I couldn't skip over it.

Hey! Hey, look at me! I'm such a big girl.

This month Brynn also started drinking out of a sippy cup. If you recall, this transition with Em was not a smooth one. It took probably 20 different cups and a sizable investment in said cups before we found what worked. With Brynn she really doesn't care where milk comes from as long as it comes NOW. We begrudgingly decided one afternoon that we needed to start working on it so we gave her a sippy cup with her lunch. To our surprise she tiled her head back and shot gunned it like a champ without a moment's hesitation.

Whoa. Whoa. WHOOOOOA. What's on my head?!

One thing Brynn didn't work on this month? Her manners. When she's done with something, she side swipes it off the table before you even realize it's about to happen. "Done" is a relative term. You may think... oh she only had 1 bite, surely she'll want more. You would be wrong. This is ALWAYS the case with fruit. Oranges? Straight to the floor. Yogurt raisins? Straight to the floor. Raspberries torn up so maybe she won't see what you're giving her? Uh uh. Straight to the floor. The other day she even denied applesauce. Definitely not your standard kid. While this isn't her Mama's favorite trait, Lola is really finding it beneficial.

Her personality reallllly started to evolve this month. This kid is a talker. I'm not sure if it's just that she has a second-child fear of being forgotten, but she is CONSTANTLY making noise. No real words except maybe uh oh. She does seem to be a fan of that and uses it appropriately maybe 60% of the time. She prefers to stick to what I affectionately call "dinosaur noises"- squawks of excitement, growls just so you know she's there - that type of thing. It always makes us laugh. She's definitely a babbler.

Can I outrun it?

Some other elements of her personality that she started to showcase this month were- a sense of humor (not shocking) and a temper (more shocking). Brynn seems to know when what she's doing will make you laugh. If she catches your eye across the table, she'll start shaking her head no and grinning from ear to ear. She also likes to pop up from over the side of the chair or peek around the corner of a door at you because she knows it will generate a laugh.

Why do we think she has a temper? Well, the hanger that we mentioned previously. But also, as you'll be able to tell from the story in the school stuff below, she has a tendency to get mad and start throwing things. I am not completely sure where the temper comes from because while I do get riled up easily, I wouldn't say I have a temper. Ryan certainly doesn't have a temper. So we will see if this one develops into a true characteristic or is just a passing phase.

Nope. This seems like something I'll need to tackle from a seated position. Just give me a second...

Brynn has started to really remember people who aren't her Mama and Daddy. I know this is always such an exciting milestone for the grandparents, aunt/uncles, etc. Every once in a while Nonnie will go pick the girls up at school and she says that Brynn will grin across the room and crawl over at lightening speed when she sees her.

I'm trying to think what other things I want to remember about her at this age as I know things come and go so quickly. She still sucks her thumb. She is obsessed with a blanket that Shawna gave her. It's the first thing she looks for when you lay her down in her crib. She still adores her sister and is becoming more and more interactive and in tune with what she's doing. She's still a bit of a Mama's girl but with each passing day I see this fade more and more (huge tear). She remains a super star for her age at entertaining herself. She's definitely more of an explorer than her sister was. She adores baths and sprawling out on her belly in the tub.

... Huh. Weird. Why do they put these up there?

Overall, she is just our Brynnie. The peanut butter to Em's jelly, the gimme-my-milk to Mama's love of cookies and the Robin to her Daddy's fantasy that he's Batman. I truly can't recall the day that our family functioned without her. We are beyond grateful for this little nugget and all she brings to our world.

The School Stuff
Brynnie's teachers mainly comment on, in this order, 1) her being an easy baby and 2) "that baby love to eat". So there's not typically too much to report in here. However, one evening when I got to school to pick her up her teacher was telling me how at snack time Brynn started to choke a little bit on a cracker. Her teacher said that made her really angry. Once the cracker was safely dislodged, she angrily swiped all the food off her plate. Because clearly it was that cracker's fault. Who'd have guessed that Boo Boo was a baby hulk?!

I'm so offended.

The Stats

Height: 30" (80th percentile)
Weight: 21 lbs 5 oz (73rd percentile)
Head: 18" (73rd percentile)
Diaper Size: 4
Clothes: Should be 12-18 months but unfortunately that size for Em was in the dead of summer. So I still squeeze her into 9-12 month stuff sometimes. #secondchildprobs
Feeding: She eats 3 meals a day and 2 snacks during the week at school. She sleeps better at home so on the weekends she probably averages 1 snack a day but otherwise the same schedule. She loooooves meat. She likes veggies. She despises fruit. She's also not huge on sweets (she threw her birthday cake on the ground) but is coming around slowly.
Sleeping: Same story, different month. Kid's a superstar sleeper. She wants to be in bed, firm grasp on beloved blanket, at 7:15 pm. She wakes up on her own around 7:00 am and babbles happily away to herself. She honestly might do this all day if we let her. Surely this means she is going to be a terrible sleeper later but for now I'm enjoying it.
Favorite Games/Songs: Chase. Hands down this kid still loves chase. And being upside down. She may or may not have a future in the circus.
Other Notables: I probably haven't mentioned it much but she isn't one for road trips. Heading to Conroe always means intense fits for at least the last 30 minutes. I suppose I can't blame her. The best part of road trips are the snacks and she isn't old enough for those yet. ;c)