12 Month Baby Update + First Birthday Gift Ideas

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This year with little miss ONEderful has been so much fun! Dolly Jean is becoming more brave and independent by the day, and copies everything we say or do. She loves eating, shopping, reading books and seeing every kind of animal (we’ve been living at the farm & zoo lately). I can’t believe she’s already a year old!

Below is a video I made for her birthday with snippets of all the sweet memories throughout her first year.

DAILY SCHEDULE

I share more details on my Instagram stories in the highlight “daily life,” if you want to check that out!

7:30 AM – wake up & nurse
8:00 AM – eat breakfast
8:30 AM – play time
9:30 AM – nap #1
11:30 AM – eat lunch
12:00 PM – get out of the house (play dates, hang out outside or run errands, depending on the day)
1:00 PM – snack
2:30 PM – nap #2
4:00 PM – wake up & start prepping dinner. Sometimes snacks help get us through this time 🙂
5:00 PM – eat dinner
6:30 PM – start bedtime routine
7:00 PM – nurse & down for bed around 7:30

FIRST BIRTHDAY GIFT IDEAS

Whether for your own baby, or shopping for a friend/relative, these birthday gift ideas will not let you down!

This ride-on wheely cow is SO cute, and they have tons of other animal options. Dolly’s not quite big enough to ride on hers yet, but she loves to push it around the house.
This Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair is on the higher-end, but worth every penny! Ours gets played with every single day, and it’s super easy to clean.
One thing I know we’re going to get a lot of use out of are these wooden alphabet blocks. They have upper- and lower-case letters, pictures and words, and they’re in the prettiest natural wood colors.
Splash pads are so fun, and perfect for summer! We play with either this or our kiddie pool every day in this Florida heat.
Dolly is obsessed with her Bitty Baby Doll. She gives her hugs and kisses all day long. It is a bit expensive, so here’s an affordable alternative (we have this one too, and it has a magnetic bottle and pacifier).

Here are a few more affordable options:

I always joke that this baby doll stroller is the best $10 we’ve ever spent. It’s lightweight and small enough for toddlers to easily maneuver and push around the house.
We play with this shape sorter daily, and I feel like Dolly is already starting to catch onto learning her shapes!
This kitchen sink toy is a huge hit. It has running water and can keep her entertained for hours. Definitely a must-have for those rainy days when we can’t swim!
Another great educational toy is this cute alphabet puzzle. It’s the perfect size to easily store away, with large enough letters to not be a choking hazard.
Lastly, this ball drop toy is another fun one. Our is currently in the pack & play and can keep Dolly entertained for a while.

If you missed it, I put all the details from Dolly’s birthday party into this blog post. Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us and wished her a happy birthday! Our girl is so loved.