Happy birthday sweet girl!! I absolutely cannot wrap my head around the fact that my "baby" is technically no longer a baby. You are a toddler now! Is that possible? On one hand I feel like you were just born and you are my tiny little baby. But on the other hand I feel like you have been in our lives forever, and I can't even picture our family without you in it.
You have made such strides this past month, and while it is all so new and exciting, there is no denying that watching you grow up right before my eyes is also bittersweet. This precious stage of life is one that I wish I could bottle up and keep forever. You are so happy and smiley; always such a sweetheart. I must admit that it hurts my heart just a little bit to watch this baby stage slipping away.
But on the other hand I love, love, love watching you discover new things! On the day of your party, you decided to climb steps for the first time. You got all the way to the top too! And it was hilarious because then you would turn around to see how far you had come, and you would laugh and laugh. It's officially time to bring the baby gates out!
And on your actual birthday you took your first steps with walking toys! You have been pulling yourself up on furniture and cruising for a while now, but you just started actually walking forward with your toys! It usually ends the way it did in this video, but you never seem to mind:
Your newest fascination is saying "Hi" to everyone! You love it, and whenever we go out to eat or you see anyone at all, you say "Hi" to them over and over and over again. And you have the little wave to go with it! It's a big crowd pleaser and so very cute :)
You also can mimic a kissy face and you make the little kissy noise to go with it. I cannot help but laugh every time. I have yet to capture that one on video, but I have one picture of it:
Now that you are officially one year old and have 6 teeth, I have stopped pureeing your food.... and stopped nursing you. You are able to eat soft table food with no problem, so the days of mashed food are over!! And as far as nursing, we were down to once a day (before bed) for several weeks, and your actual birthday night was our last night of breastfeeding! We gave you bottles of breast milk mixed with whole milk before bed for a few days after that, and boy do you love your bottles! Your little fingers turn white with your death grip around that thing, and Lord help the person who tries to take it away from you!
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But those bottles before bed were just a transition thing and we have now cut those out too. You eat your dinner, have a drink (of water or whole milk) with dinner and then you are good to go until morning! Thankfully, just like your sister, you had no issue with the cessation of nursing. I feel like a year is a good age to stop, and that is one of the reasons. (In other news, Mommy has her body all to herself for the first time in 3.5 years!! Not pregnant or breastfeeding...woohoo!!!)
You wake up around 7:30, take 2 naps a day, and then are back to bed around 7:30. And you remain an excellent sleeper. There is never any crying when we lay you down. You grab your trusty purple blanket, turn on your side, shove that thumb in your mouth, and that's it. It is so very different than our experiences with Addy. She used to cry before she feel asleep at almost every nap time. You, on the other hand, never do.
You are always so happy and pleasant when you wake up. Half the time I don't even realize that you are awake until I look in the monitor and see you sitting there, patiently waiting for someone to come and get you. Here you are on the morning of your birthday:
Your beautiful eyes are still a grayish blue, although it is often hard to tell in pictures because your smile is so big that your eyes are squinted :) Here is a photo that I caught in between tears showcasing your grayish blues:
I love your little tongue!
Here are your 12 month stats:
Weight: 18.75lbs (35th percentile)
Length: 29.75 inches (70th percentile)
HC: 46cm (80th percentile)
And then here are a few that I grabbed on your birthday:
Yup, we had props and everything ;) You got your own chair!
Sweet one :)
Flower power!
You really love your new baby, although it looks like you are about to heave her in this pic ;)
Caught ya mid laugh!
Emma, you have brought more joy and happiness into our everyday than we ever thought possible. I never want to forget you at this age, as you are the essence of the word precious. Your infectious giggle, your gap toothed grin, and your sunny disposition remind me daily of how blessed I am that God chose me to be your Mommy. I could not have asked for anything more in this life. You are one amazing little lady and this family is lucky to call you ours.
Your big sister adores you every bit as much as Daddy and I do. Here is the moment we became "us":
....And a year later:
Happy Birthday to my Sweet One. It has been an amazing first year and I am so excited for the many, many years to come. I love you to the moon.... and back.
Love,
Mommy
Love that photo you grabbed of her mid-laugh! Suey is such a little love nug!
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