Happy Birthday, baby girl!

I can't believe our baby girl is ONE YEAR old already! It was funny to go back and look at the pictures from her first few months... we've gone from a newborn who cried half the night to a tiny, cute, giggly toddler. It's amazing to watch her learn new things every day - something she couldn't do a week ago and now she's a pro! Here are a few of her latest and greatest:

• Signing - all done, more, bye bye, no (that's her favorite)


• Talking - she tries to repeat as much as she can, but she can regularly say mama, dada, car, ball, bottle, and a few others on occassion


• Puts her head down on a pillow and says "ahhhhh" with a big smile because we say "aw, how cute"


• She likes to make a clicky sound with her tongue and blow rasberries


• Cruising along the furniture like a little machine


• Goes up AND down the stairs - yay!


• Likes to play "chase" with Brett (that's what they're doing as I type this)


• Teeth - we're up to EIGHT


• Standing on her own for up to a minute


• Walks holding one hand, and can take several steps by herself before she lunges for the nearest object


• Meals - she's a toddler and becoming increasingly more difficult to feed because her attention span is so short! Her favorite is still Gerber Garden Veggies, but she's also eating more and more table food too.


• She's still pretty bald, except for one spot in the back that her hair is decently thick - everyone assures us that she won't be bald forever (I hope they're right!)


• She's still tiny - MAYBE 18 pounds??? She'll be facing the back of the car for awhile longer. She has to be 20 pounds - come on baby girl!


• She loves the water - any water - and loves to splash, hard! I entertain her at Todd's softball games by filling her stroller tray with water and letting her splash. I figure it cools her off too :) We'll see how she likes the ocean next month!


• She LOVES LOVES LOVES Elmo, or "po" as she calls him


• Her crib is getting increasingly more crowded - she now sleeps with her pink cotton knit blanket, a teddy bear, and a pink poodle/blanket thingie, and 2 pacifiers if she's teething - we call them the "magic pacis" because it's the only thing that'll get her back to sleep! She doesn't suck on them - she chews on them and bangs them together.


• After dinner, she lays her head down on your shoulder and cuddles until it's time to go to bed.


• She gives open mouth kisses - seriously. She'll even slip you some tongue if you're not careful! We need to nip this before she turns 16!