Little girl, we made it... you officially 12 MONTHS OLD... ONE YEAR OLD! Hands down, this has been the BEST year of our lives, albeit the fastest! Punkin bottom, it is hard and almost impossible to remember life before your presence graced our family. You are the absolute greatest JOY to your Momma and Daddy! And this past month, you had the time of your life! You make every day so fun as we know you are learning so much, growing so much and getting to experience new things.... we can definitely tell our little baby girl is beginning the transition to toddler-hood.... yikes!, that happened fast!
So, one thing that you are COMPLETELY over is sitting still (hence the picture above!).... you definitely prefer to be up on your feet (holding onto furniture) or up on your knees (crawling at the speed of lightening!)... you are like a worm in hot ashes.... you just do NOT want to be still... whether it is pushing your shopping carts, finding dust bunnies or lent on the floor (your favorite) or playing chase with Momma and Daddy... you. are. everywhere.
You are also such a curious little bug! You absolutely love to open cabinets (we finally have safety locks on all dangerous ones - phew!), reach for remotes and phones, eat whatever Momma or Daddy is eating, drink from our cups instead of your own and sometimes let out little fits when we "gate" you into the playroom... you would much rather be exploring!
You are not walking yet... but you are SO CLOSE - we just know it! You are really confident behind your shopping carts and little toy walkers.... and even when holding both of our hands... you are just a little too shy to want to get up and go, though. But we know you are ready... so we expect this ANY DAY!
You officially popped your FIRST tooth the day before your birthday!!!! Now, it only just came through the surface, so we can barely see it, but you have a TOOTH - woot woot! It's about time, little one!
Speaking of little one, this picture above makes you look a lot larger than you actually are... because sweet one, you are still about 17 lbs (official weight coming next week at the dr), wearing 6-12 month clothes (your 12 month clothes are HUGE, but they are mainly dresses and well, we still put you in them), your swimsuits are 6-9 months, you are beginning the transition to size 3 diapers (they are too big, but you potty too much to hold in size 2s)... you are still in your infant car seat and who knows when you will transition to a bigger one.... I bet it won't be too long, because you are tall.... but who knows.
Your schedule has tweaked a little bit, but girlfriend, in my opinion it has only bettered (if that is even possible!) You now sleep until about 8:15 - 8:30am (we pretty much have to wake you up because I am sure you would sleep until 10am if we would let you!), eat your bottle (60z) and oatmeal, play until about 10:30am then you are down for your first nap, up around 12:15pm (eat your bottle (60z) and eat either a fruit or veggie (sometimes both), nap around 2:30pm, up at 4:30pm and eat a bottle (50z) and play until dinner around 6:45pm which consists of veggies, fruit, some kind of protein and your last bottle (4-50z).... not going to lie... getting you to eat your formula is a BEATING (like we would do anything to get you to drink 40z each time, ANYTHING)... BUT, this past week we transitioned you to whole milk... let's just say you think it is ice cream... you can't. get. enough!!!! HOORAY!!!
So, this summer is officially the hottest summer on record since Momma has been alive, so lets just admit that while you are a WATER BABY (you love the pool more than any other activity and have absolutely no fear!), we have not been able to be outside as much as we would have liked. We definitely swim when we can, but really our activities are limited to indoor because Momma is a worry-wart with her little girl. You did spend all day in the pool on the 4th of July.... a holiday I know you are going to just LOVE once you stay awake long enough to enjoy some fireworks :).
You have become so vocal... while your words are not perfect, you are trying to say so many things and you are talking all the time. Your favorite words are still Momma and Daddadda, mum-mum (you are always wanting to eat these snacks), no-no-no (woops! we were really trying not to use the word, "no", but obviously that didn't work out to well), pup, Dod-Dod (for Dot-Dot), Papaw, ba-bye (while waving) and uh-oh (because you purposefully drop things all the time hoping we will pick them up, especially when we are changing your diaper).
You LOVE phones.... and you have finally figured out that we are talking to someone on the other end, so now EVERYTHING is a phone to you. It can be your blackberry, our IPhone, a stuffed animal or your mum-mum.... you hold it up to your ear and start talking so much babble to someone.... its hilarious to me. PaPaw also taught you how to navigate his IPhone, so of course that is your toy of choice.... which I don't let you play with mine, so it is only a treat when your grandparents come over.... you know how to turn the ipod on and you immediately start swaying and dancing with whatever music comes on.
Your hair is getting SO long!!! Still not so much in the back, but the top is crazy long, so we have transitioned from the bands with the bows attached (which we all know you loved) to little clips and bows that go right into your hair to hold it back! The good news is... we typically get at least 10-15 minutes before you recognize something is in your hair!
Speaking of your hair, you LOVE to brush your own hair... I am pretty sure if you could say it, you would tell me that "you do it"... because basically, you do. After bath time, the best way to ensure you stay happy and let us lotion you is if we pass along the brush or comb to you... and you really do go through your hair... you also LOVE Momma's brush... its a little heavy for you, but you try to brush your hair with it daily.
You went on your first road-trip this month!! We packed up the Tahoe with the Rives family and headed to Colorado.... not the smoothest car traveling you have ever had, but we made it! We spent a week in the mountains and just had a blast! You definitely struggled with altitude sickness a little bit, but for the most part you did great.... you saw your first mountains, touched your first snow, went to your first western party and played with your pal Lucy... so much fun!
Here is a picture of you and Lucy in the Aspen Grove at Trail West, in Colorado. We figured out over the last few weeks that the best way to get you to smile in pictures is to sing "Patty-Cake"... works like a charm. From now on, know that if you are smiling in a picture, someone in the background is either singing that, or "Happy Birthday" to you....
This might very well be my favorite picture of you girls for years to come... it is priceless to me. And it reminds me of just how much you love being with other babies or little kids... you get REALLY excited (like clench your fists and scream with glee excited) whenever you see a little friend that you recognize or even some you don't... makes going through Costco and Target always a little bit interesting. You also love to wave and "oh-oh-oh" (like a monkey) when you see other kids.... and you LOVE babies. This is a great thing, seeing as Momma is pregnant, but we are also working on channeling that love to being gentle and observing, rather than screaming and trying to pat them over and over.... yikes!
You are a Daddy's girl.... in every way. Not only are you his spitting-image, but you definitely prefer Daddadda to Momma. You love it when we wake up and he is home, you definitely prefer him to tuck you in at night and you do absolutely anything to get his attention... it is quite darling, and I hope you stay a Daddy's girl forever. He has a lot of great things to teach you, sweet one, and he is a great measure for you when boys come along your way someday.... don't settle for anything less than the love your Daddy has for Jesus, for your Momma and for you.
It's not rare that I look over after turning my back for a moment to find you being mischievous... you know it, and you love it. Whether it is turning your little kitchen on its side so you can climb all over it, opening cabinets that you know are off limits, hearing "no, I don't think so or hands off" to something then smiling and doing it anyway.... you definitely keep us on our toes. You think being sneaky is really funny... and it is SO hard not to laugh when you are doing something wrong because you are funny... but we are really trying to instill obedience into you, so slowly we are introducing discipline.... mainly we just take away whatever toy you are playing with if you are doing something you shouldn't, but we have spanked your little hand a few times.... in fact, you often take your own hand and give it a little pat afterwards (totally mocking us!)... how can we not laugh?!?!? Oh girl, you are a mess - I love it!
You have the greatest laugh and it is always the funniest things that get you rolling.... and once you start, we never want you to stop. You love being tickled, love being chased and caught and you love weird noises like "raspberries" to the sky.... you also love when you make us laugh unintentionally, which in turn means repeating the same thing over and over while laughing hysterically. The other day, you accidentally flicked water on Aunt Katie from her straw and her reaction made you laugh so hard that you continued to flick water on her and belly laugh for the next 30 minutes, no lie.
You are started to enjoy SNUGGLING again.... and it is melting Momma and Daddy's hearts... it definitely is not everyday (and I am sure it has something to do with teething), but every once in a while you just reach for us and when we pick you up you will put your head on our chest, arms around our shoulders and just let us hold you like we always want to.... oh my word, it can make this Momma cry (and Daddy too)... what we wouldn't give for you to continue to do this for years to come....
Well, we did it! We survived the fastest year known to man-kind.... and little girl, we are BETTER for it because we had 365 of the most amazing days filled with Y-O-U! If this year was any indication of how fast you will grow up, Momma just might not be able to cope.... you have blossomed from my little 7lb11oz baby to a beautiful little girl, inside and out, way too fast. We LOVE you, We LOVE you, We LOVE you and praise the Lord for the opportunity to be your parents..... sweet one, as Chapter ONE comes to a close I have a feeling the BEST IS YET TO COME! Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!!
Little girl, we made it... you officially 12 MONTHS OLD... ONE YEAR OLD! Hands down, this has been the BEST year of our lives, albeit the fastest! Punkin bottom, it is hard and almost impossible to remember life before your presence graced our family. You are the absolute greatest JOY to your Momma and Daddy! And this past month, you had the time of your life! You make every day so fun as we know you are learning so much, growing so much and getting to experience new things.... we can definitely tell our little baby girl is beginning the transition to toddler-hood.... yikes!, that happened fast!
So, one thing that you are COMPLETELY over is sitting still (hence the picture above!).... you definitely prefer to be up on your feet (holding onto furniture) or up on your knees (crawling at the speed of lightening!)... you are like a worm in hot ashes.... you just do NOT want to be still... whether it is pushing your shopping carts, finding dust bunnies or lent on the floor (your favorite) or playing chase with Momma and Daddy... you. are. everywhere.
You are also such a curious little bug! You absolutely love to open cabinets (we finally have safety locks on all dangerous ones - phew!), reach for remotes and phones, eat whatever Momma or Daddy is eating, drink from our cups instead of your own and sometimes let out little fits when we "gate" you into the playroom... you would much rather be exploring!
You are not walking yet... but you are SO CLOSE - we just know it! You are really confident behind your shopping carts and little toy walkers.... and even when holding both of our hands... you are just a little too shy to want to get up and go, though. But we know you are ready... so we expect this ANY DAY!
You officially popped your FIRST tooth the day before your birthday!!!! Now, it only just came through the surface, so we can barely see it, but you have a TOOTH - woot woot! It's about time, little one!
Speaking of little one, this picture above makes you look a lot larger than you actually are... because sweet one, you are still about 17 lbs (official weight coming next week at the dr), wearing 6-12 month clothes (your 12 month clothes are HUGE, but they are mainly dresses and well, we still put you in them), your swimsuits are 6-9 months, you are beginning the transition to size 3 diapers (they are too big, but you potty too much to hold in size 2s)... you are still in your infant car seat and who knows when you will transition to a bigger one.... I bet it won't be too long, because you are tall.... but who knows.
Your schedule has tweaked a little bit, but girlfriend, in my opinion it has only bettered (if that is even possible!) You now sleep until about 8:15 - 8:30am (we pretty much have to wake you up because I am sure you would sleep until 10am if we would let you!), eat your bottle (60z) and oatmeal, play until about 10:30am then you are down for your first nap, up around 12:15pm (eat your bottle (60z) and eat either a fruit or veggie (sometimes both), nap around 2:30pm, up at 4:30pm and eat a bottle (50z) and play until dinner around 6:45pm which consists of veggies, fruit, some kind of protein and your last bottle (4-50z).... not going to lie... getting you to eat your formula is a BEATING (like we would do anything to get you to drink 40z each time, ANYTHING)... BUT, this past week we transitioned you to whole milk... let's just say you think it is ice cream... you can't. get. enough!!!! HOORAY!!!
So, this summer is officially the hottest summer on record since Momma has been alive, so lets just admit that while you are a WATER BABY (you love the pool more than any other activity and have absolutely no fear!), we have not been able to be outside as much as we would have liked. We definitely swim when we can, but really our activities are limited to indoor because Momma is a worry-wart with her little girl. You did spend all day in the pool on the 4th of July.... a holiday I know you are going to just LOVE once you stay awake long enough to enjoy some fireworks :). 
You have become so vocal... while your words are not perfect, you are trying to say so many things and you are talking all the time. Your favorite words are still Momma and Daddadda, mum-mum (you are always wanting to eat these snacks), no-no-no (woops! we were really trying not to use the word, "no", but obviously that didn't work out to well), pup, Dod-Dod (for Dot-Dot), Papaw, ba-bye (while waving) and uh-oh (because you purposefully drop things all the time hoping we will pick them up, especially when we are changing your diaper). 
You LOVE phones.... and you have finally figured out that we are talking to someone on the other end, so now EVERYTHING is a phone to you. It can be your blackberry, our IPhone, a stuffed animal or your mum-mum.... you hold it up to your ear and start talking so much babble to someone.... its hilarious to me. PaPaw also taught you how to navigate his IPhone, so of course that is your toy of choice.... which I don't let you play with mine, so it is only a treat when your grandparents come over.... you know how to turn the ipod on and you immediately start swaying and dancing with whatever music comes on. 
Your hair is getting SO long!!! Still not so much in the back, but the top is crazy long, so we have transitioned from the bands with the bows attached (which we all know you loved) to little clips and bows that go right into your hair to hold it back! The good news is... we typically get at least 10-15 minutes before you recognize something is in your hair!
Speaking of your hair, you LOVE to brush your own hair... I am pretty sure if you could say it, you would tell me that "you do it"... because basically, you do. After bath time, the best way to ensure you stay happy and let us lotion you is if we pass along the brush or comb to you... and you really do go through your hair... you also LOVE Momma's brush... its a little heavy for you, but you try to brush your hair with it daily.
You went on your first road-trip this month!! We packed up the Tahoe with the Rives family and headed to Colorado.... not the smoothest car traveling you have ever had, but we made it! We spent a week in the mountains and just had a blast! You definitely struggled with altitude sickness a little bit, but for the most part you did great.... you saw your first mountains, touched your first snow, went to your first western party and played with your pal Lucy... so much fun!
Here is a picture of you and Lucy in the Aspen Grove at Trail West, in Colorado. We figured out over the last few weeks that the best way to get you to smile in pictures is to sing "Patty-Cake"... works like a charm. From now on, know that if you are smiling in a picture, someone in the background is either singing that, or "Happy Birthday" to you....
This might very well be my favorite picture of you girls for years to come... it is priceless to me. And it reminds me of just how much you love being with other babies or little kids... you get REALLY excited (like clench your fists and scream with glee excited) whenever you see a little friend that you recognize or even some you don't... makes going through Costco and Target always a little bit interesting. You also love to wave and "oh-oh-oh" (like a monkey) when you see other kids.... and you LOVE babies. This is a great thing, seeing as Momma is pregnant, but we are also working on channeling that love to being gentle and observing, rather than screaming and trying to pat them over and over.... yikes!
You are a Daddy's girl.... in every way. Not only are you his spitting-image, but you definitely prefer Daddadda to Momma. You love it when we wake up and he is home, you definitely prefer him to tuck you in at night and you do absolutely anything to get his attention... it is quite darling, and I hope you stay a Daddy's girl forever. He has a lot of great things to teach you, sweet one, and he is a great measure for you when boys come along your way someday.... don't settle for anything less than the love your Daddy has for Jesus, for your Momma and for you.
It's not rare that I look over after turning my back for a moment to find you being mischievous... you know it, and you love it. Whether it is turning your little kitchen on its side so you can climb all over it, opening cabinets that you know are off limits, hearing "no, I don't think so or hands off" to something then smiling and doing it anyway.... you definitely keep us on our toes. You think being sneaky is really funny... and it is SO hard not to laugh when you are doing something wrong because you are funny... but we are really trying to instill obedience into you, so slowly we are introducing discipline.... mainly we just take away whatever toy you are playing with if you are doing something you shouldn't, but we have spanked your little hand a few times.... in fact, you often take your own hand and give it a little pat afterwards (totally mocking us!)... how can we not laugh?!?!? Oh girl, you are a mess - I love it!
You have the greatest laugh and it is always the funniest things that get you rolling.... and once you start, we never want you to stop. You love being tickled, love being chased and caught and you love weird noises like "raspberries" to the sky.... you also love when you make us laugh unintentionally, which in turn means repeating the same thing over and over while laughing hysterically. The other day, you accidentally flicked water on Aunt Katie from her straw and her reaction made you laugh so hard that you continued to flick water on her and belly laugh for the next 30 minutes, no lie.
You are started to enjoy SNUGGLING again.... and it is melting Momma and Daddy's hearts... it definitely is not everyday (and I am sure it has something to do with teething), but every once in a while you just reach for us and when we pick you up you will put your head on our chest, arms around our shoulders and just let us hold you like we always want to.... oh my word, it can make this Momma cry (and Daddy too)... what we wouldn't give for you to continue to do this for years to come....
Well, we did it! We survived the fastest year known to man-kind.... and little girl, we are BETTER for it because we had 365 of the most amazing days filled with Y-O-U! If this year was any indication of how fast you will grow up, Momma just might not be able to cope.... you have blossomed from my little 7lb11oz baby to a beautiful little girl, inside and out, way too fast. We LOVE you, We LOVE you, We LOVE you and praise the Lord for the opportunity to be your parents..... sweet one, as Chapter ONE comes to a close I have a feeling the BEST IS YET TO COME! Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!!!
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