It’s crazy to me how quickly this last year has gone by with this sweet little girl. When we asked Henry if he was glad Edie was part of our family he gave a mehhhh so-so shake of the wrist but I’m determined she’ll eventually win him over.  Here are a few little things I want to remember about life with our one year old…

This post is sponsored by Munchkin, who make some of my favorite baby products. 

1. One of the biggest things is that she’s starting to take a few steps! We had moments of longer walks (and luckily recorded one of them) but mostly she just takes a few steps here and there and whenever she does she has the BIGGEST smile on her face. She will happily walk around the house holding someone’s hand or a pushing a cart all day long!

2. Verbally she’s still at the age where there are big questions marks as to what her noises mean but certain things seems to be consistent. When she’s all done with food she often says ‘da done’. When she wants milk she often says ‘mama’. She waves goodbye with her wrist (always like a minute after the guest has left but she’s starting to catch on). I can’t wait for her to start trying out Henry’s name and ‘dada’. She also shakes her head no quite consistently and seals her mouth shut when she doesn’t want to eat.

3. Some of Edie’s favorite foods are yogurt, ice cream (of course), string cheese, peas, soups, rice, beans, chicken, and of course these ice cube popsicles. If you pull them out of the freezer her face will open up in the widest grin! She only has two teeth on the bottom so things still need to be soft and small but she’s pretty good at trying new tastes, textures, and spices (in fact she thinks the spice cabinet is her personal toy chest and can often be found emptying it).

I was happy to partner with Munchkin for this post because they make so many of the feeding products we love for Edie and use on a regular basis. They also represent so much innovation in feeding products since Henry that I was excited to try for Edie. The suction bowls are totally genius. I think I bought a pack of those while I was still pregnant with her. They’re so smart for this age because she wants to feed herself but is definitely not old enough to be left alone with a bowl of yogurt. The suction bowls keep everything in place while still allowing her to feed herself (as you can see above!). We love them and use them all the time. Here are a few other favorites from Munchkin:

1. Mighty grip suction bowls
2. Trainer spoon: Unlike a spoon, it doesn’t have to be held or dipped in any particular angle, and really grabs chunky foods pretty well like yogurt, applesauce or thick soups.
3. Miracle 360 cup: Have you seen this? New to us, it’s a sippy cup that doesn’t spill but can be sipped and held at any angle. Isn’t that so smart? I have no idea how it all works but it’s genius. Plus, a great design (I was just thinking sippy cups needed a redesign until I met this great looking one!).
4. Silicon spoons: We only have 4 of these but whenever we’re out I’m searching the dishwasher for them. So soft and gentle, they’re our favorite spoons to feed Edie with.
5. Sea squirts
6. Snack catcher: Again, an amazing innovation since Henry was a baby. I think every mom at the playground has one of these. Easy to pick snacks out but nearly impossible for them to spill on their own.
7. Bath toy scoop: Such a smart way to store all the bath toys!
8. Poor and strain whales
9. Nursery projector and sound system: My blog manager Ashley swears by this thing! She uses is with her daughter Hazel whose the same age as Edie and loves it.

4. Her attachment to things. Edie is always pointing to the stuffed animals in the room and giggles when you bring them close to her. She hugs and squeezes and then carries them around. She pokes at their noses and eyes and seems fascinated by their faces. It’s so sweet!  I love her little attachment to random things like the pumpkin trick or treat bucket, balloons, the spice cabinet, unrolling the toilet paper roll (ARG), the stationery drawer in my craft room, and random stuffed animals. It certainly makes it easy to cheer her up when she’s feeling sad, tired, or bored.

5. Music and dance! Again, a surprise compared to Henry. She loves music (recently it’s ‘ittsy bittsy spider’) and even tries to ‘sing’ herself and one of her favorites things is watching others dance and spin and jump around. She has the perfect older brother because Henry is constantly on the move and loves making her laugh. They’re a cute pair together!

6. Here’s a fun game she loves: We make a short, one syllable noise like ‘dah!’ to her and she will repeat it right back. You can go back and forth for a while, she never gets sick of this game!

Munchkin rids the world of the mundane by developing clever, innovative solutions that make family life safer, easier, and more fun. You can find Munchkin products at Munchkin.com, Target, Babies’R’Us, Walmart, and Amazon. It’s the little things! 

Photography by Liz Stanley