One.

She's one. Our sweet little angel has been in our world for one whole year. Crazy.


In the past year, our house has changed a bit. I love that we now constantly maneuver through a maze of baby gates and that opening a door to the outside now takes a little more effort. I love that there are bibs and burp cloths where koozies and bottle openers used to be.

I love that there is an entire compartment of tiny spoons and forks in my silverware drawer. 

I love that more often than not, our toilet paper looks like this:

And although I've written time after time about loving those sweet newborn snuggles and wanting to pause time with my six month old, I have to say, one is so much fun! 

She is this tiny little person following me around, walking, imitating my every move. She "talks" constantly, carries her baby doll around and "cooks" in her kitchen. She sits in her tiny chair like an adult, lounging with her feet over the edge while watching a movie.  She is funny. She is smart. She is so much of Husband and I combined - organized, deliberate, a bit stubborn - and we can't help but laugh each time we recognize a part of ourselves in this miniature version.

There really are no words to explain the sheer pride and joy felt by not only bringing a child into the world, but watching her grow, think, learn, and develop into a person.


She is growing like a weed, holding strong to the 90th percentile in height at 30.5" long and weighing in at 19 lbs, 6 oz. (25th percentile) at her one year old check up. She eats  basically anything we give her and seems to be eating constantly. Her current favorite, without a doubt, are blueberries. She will eat them all day, every day, until her fingers are purple and her clothes are covered in stains. She also really likes strawberries, grapes, bananas, peas, avocados, chicken, and cheese. She eats banana waffles, cottage cheese pancakes, and blueberry muffins. We're attempting spoon training with yogurt. It's...interesting...

Two spoons. Very little contact with mouth.

She's walking faster and faster each day. I love watching her smile after she realizes she's made it all the way across the room. In every moment of every day, she's learning. At bath time, she watches the water flow from the mouth of a rubber frog, trying to grasp it like a rope as it runs through her tiny fingers. She studies the morning sunlight on the living room floor, gently touching it with a pointed finger before patting it hard with her flattened palm, wondering why she can't pick it up. She turns everything upside down, end over end, trying to figure out how it works.


As we played before bed tonight, I watched her correctly slide a stacking ring onto its post, place shapes into the shape sorter, and then clap her hands; and I realized, I had taught her how to do all of those things. A lot has changed for our family in the past year, one of the biggest being our decision for me to become a stay at home mom, a decision we have never once regretted. And tonight, as I watched my past year's work right before my eyes, I found myself very pleased with my year end review.


Happy first birthday, my love. We love you even more today than yesterday. Our hearts seem to expand daily to accommodate all the love that you give. We are overjoyed with the person you are and the person you will be. You are simply exquisite and there will never be anyone else exactly like you in the entire world. I hope only that you will grow up knowing you are special, you are important, and beyond all else, you are loved. Your Daddy and I can't wait to see what this next year brings with our toddler!