One Year Old!

Madeline Nicole,

You are one today!  365 days ago our life changed forever.  I became a mama and welcomed a perfect little babe into the world.  And now our sweet and spunky little girl is a toddler!

You have grown from a tiny babe to a little person this year and I couldn't love you more.  How lucky am I to have a little girl who is easy going, hilarious, a smarty pants and adorable?!   I constantly feel like you can't get any cuter, smarter, etc. and then you do!

I LOVE that you are so great at communicating right now.   Whether it be pointing, signing or using the few words you know -Mama, Dada, This, and Whats That (accompanied by pointing), I can easily tell what you want.  Running errands together is so fun now that I have my best girl along chatting away!

You like to imitate everything Daddy and Mommy do.  You do a great fake laugh whenever Daddy does his fake laugh.  Your cousin Elliot even started doing it after spending a few hours with you.  You picked up on his crazy dance moves that day, so you were learning from each other!

You still taking two naps a day that are between 1-2 hours each.  Your bedtime is getting pushed a lot later now because of your good naps.  You're super easy going though and can handle only one nap if we need you to.  You started waking up early in the morning to eat a few months ago. You quickly go back to sleep, so I hardly even notice.   Morning snuggles with you are one of Mommy's favorite times of the whole day!

 I love all the hugs and kisses you give.  It melts my heart when you run over to me with your arms stretched and give me a big squeeze.  You love giving big bear hugs to Oliver and your cousin June still gets the most kisses these days.   

You are still breastfeeding 4-5 times a day.  We're just starting to give you some cow's milk mixed with breastmilk and you're not completely sold on it yet.  I sometimes get emotional when I think about you being completely independent and drinking normal milk!  You are just getting so big!

The eight baby teeth you have make the most adorable grin!  Your favorites foods are still blueberries and hummus.  You aren't a huge fan of broccoli or peas, but if they are covered in hummus you will eat anything!  You also really love pomegranate seeds and yogurt.  You love using a fork or spoon to eat and can actually get food on them before it goes into your mouth.   I was impressed the first time I handed you a fork and you actually knew how to use it!  These days you would rather put the blueberry on the spoon and then eat it off the spoon than use your fingers.

Your favorite activities right now are climbing the stairs, running in circles around the dining room table and playing hide and seek before bedtime.  You have the cutest belly laughs when we play hide and seek.  Your least favorite activities are putting clothes on and not being able to stand in the bathtub.

It is such a parenting cliche to say we don't remember life before you were here, but honestly it is hard to imagine it!  This has without a doubt been the best year of my life.  You bring so much joy and love into my life that I never knew possible.   Although I get emotional when I think about how fast you are growing, every day with you just keeps getting better! I am so excited for all the amazing things you are going to do with your life.  I love you more than words little babe!