Happy New Year!

Aerin is ringing in the New Year asleep in her crib. She loves snuggling down under her blanket. I think it reminds her of when we used to do kangaroo care. She looks so cute under her blanket with just her little head showing. Aerin sleeps in the most uncomfortable-looking position ever - on her stomach with her legs straight under her body (her chin rests on her heels). All babies are flexible, but I think that Aerin has innate flexibility (inherited from me) that will stay with her when she grows. Our doctor assures me that some babies like to sleep in that or similar positions.

Aerin's new favorite hobby is putting things places. During breakfast, she puts some Cheerios on the dining room table and some on her changing table (and of course a large portion gets fed to the dog). When she's in her fort, she puts books and toys on the sides or in the seat of her swing or on the couch if she can reach. When she's not stacking and unstacking her beloved rings, she puts them everywhere from back into the toy basket to the top of one of her walkers to the seat of her bench. I find it very amusing.

Aerin still prefers books to all toys. Her gaze is rapt when we read to her and her comprehension is very high. She looks at the correct page while it's being read and looks at us expectantly when it's time to turn the page. She loves nothing more than being read to and has memorized all of her favorites. I'm sure y'all are wondering how I know this when she doesn't yet talk. Well, sometimes Andrew likes to be silly and make up his own stories or change the words and Aerin screams until he reads it correctly. She also loves to turn pages herself and will examine the words and pictures intently. She's in this new phase where she'll only eat if she's being read to. It's okay (but inconvenient) during supper when Andrew is there to read while I feed her. Breakfast is more problematic because it's just Aerin and me. I read a book, hand it to her, and shovel food into her until she demands another book by pursing her lips and shoving the spoon away. Then we repeat until the food is gone. It's gotten pretty old by now, but she has to eat.

Aerin is a tiny girl. She's in the 25th percentile for height and the 41st percentile for weight for her adjusted age (1 year). She's still not on the chart for her chronological age. She's a decent eater, but she's just not that interested in food. I feed her only organic fruits and veggies, with Cheerios and the occasional treat. She doesn't even get excited about treats and doesn't care when she finished something she likes (like pears or fruit-juice-sweetened snacks). She doesn't like avocado or bananas, which might help to put some weight on her. This is a loaded issue for me because it brings back memories of her painfully slow weight gain in the NICU (they had to give her fat through her feeding tube). We have to get some weight on her before her surgery this summer, so I'm going to have to get creative.

2006 was overall a wonderful year for our family, but I'm looking forward to the New Year. I'm hoping that we won't have any ambulance rides and that we'll say good-bye to hospitals in July. Happy New Year to all of our family and friends and blog readers who help us so much with your loving support. Don't forget to eat your black-eyed peas!