Today you are one! That is so weird for me to say... That is 365 amazing days spent with you. And you decided to celebrate by taking your first step this week! You keep trying and before long you will be walking. Wow. Your daddy and I are so proud of you and all the things you are learning. You have been such a sweetheart from the beginning. We see you constantly observing things and taking it all in.
Recently, you have discovered opening and closing things. You love to open drawers, empty them, and do it all over again. That makes sense that your favorite books are the kind with flaps to open. In fact, you love any sort of game with searching and finding.
Daddy and I always mention that it is nice when you go down for bed but we miss you when you are sleeping. I remember a year ago feeling so anxious to have you here with us, and we are so glad you are in our family.
It is so much fun to play with you - and you always like to stay busy. You love walks in the stroller, but sadly it is getting too cold to keep doing that. We will have to find another way to get out each day, because I know how much you like seeing new places and things. In your year with us you have been to California, Texas, Idaho, Utah (park city, temple square, Zion's national park) and a short jaunt in New Mexico on our way to Texas. Every adventure has been better with you as a part of it.
A few more things you love right now are:
-Other kids your age. You love playing with your cousins especially. You know when someone is your peer.
-Trying new foods. You have decided that you want to eat anything you see us eating so you crawl around begging for food if we haven't already given you something to try. I don't blame you - I get jealous when I see people eating something yummy too ;)
- Jabbering. You love to make noises and hum and copy us. You recognize when there is a dog barking and you try to say 'dog' when you hear it. You also say things like 'mamama' and 'dadada'. You also learned how to blow through a whistle this week - just in time to blow out a candle I guess! :)
- you love going to bed early (and waking up super early) and you prefer to sleep in your bed. Any other place is just too interesting for sleep.
- you love bath time. As soon as you hear me filling up the tub you come crawling as quickly as you can. In general you love going in the bathroom - whenever you see the door open you go for it.
- You are sneaky. If we try and steer you away from something, you will pretend to forget about it and when you think we aren't looking you just go right back to it.
- you love socks - not wearing them, just holding them. You just love having one in each hand as you crawl around.
- anything fuzzy or hairy. You just love the feel (and especially taste) of hair or fuzz or string. I don't like it very much when I see you pulling dust and fuzz out from under the couch to eat it. But we made it this far! :)
- you love music. Every time you hear fun music you start smiling and bouncing up and down. You quickly understood what to do with daddy's drum set and the keyboard.
- giving kisses, high fives, and waving. You give kisses all the time, high fives only when you are in the mood, and you wave to say hello and goodbye. It is so fun!
- remotes, noisy toys, and the like. You love things that have buttons and make noise.
I could go on forever. I just love that I get to watch you grow. I am constantly thanking Heavenly Father for letting me be your mom. I think I learn just as much from you as you do from me. You have a strong spirit and it blesses our home. You have given daddy and I a new sense of perspective and what is most important in life - our family. Everything we do is because we want our family to grow and be strong - living a life of faith. We love you so much and look forward to many more years to come.
Love,
Mommy
No doubt you are working on eating a hair right there. :)
