Sweetest Day

Yeah, I'm "1"....what 'cha got to say about it? The sign says it all!
Proud parents of a one year old!

What kind of mommy is late with her baby girl's 1 year birthday blog post? Me. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm late to just about everything. But, I always have a good excuse :) Anyway, it has been an incredible weekend and week for us....being able to celebrate LILY and what a gift she has been to us. I don't think there's a day that goes by that I don't thank God for allowing us to be her parents. She is simply the sweetest, most adorable thing in the world!! And when I think back on a year ago when we were going to the hospital to have a c-section and to meet our daughter, I never thought I would love her this much.

As I turned the calendar from September to October at the beginning of the month I immediately looked to see what day her birthday landed on and the words on the 17th said "Sweetest Day." This calendar has strange holidays marked for other countries and I'm not sure what Sweetest Day is to them but I know what it is to us!! The day Lily came into our lives was the sweetest day! And I'm amazed that a year has already gone by. As I write this I can't help but get a little teary eyed because I know that time is passing so much quicker than I would like and before I know it she will be all grown up. Ok, I've got to get it together - breath in, breath out. This blog is really a keepsake for us and for Lily. For us because we don't want to forget any of these special moments that we have with her and all of her funny and adorable "ways."

At one year old {you}:

• are 31 in. tall and weigh 21 lbs. 12 oz.
• have 5 1/2 teeth on the bottom and 4 on top
• take steps by yourself but usually bend down quickly to crawl to where you want to go
• start giggling when you want to walk to me and when you get close enough you dive into my arms
• love to "get us" and love for us to "get you"....that's our game....especially when I say "Get Daddy" and you start going for him and saying "get 'cha, get 'cha, tick a tick a"
• snuggle up next to me after you nurse and fall asleep (and it's the best feeling!)
• when you sit in your little rocking chair or play with your swing you hum/sing the tune that Maw Maw sings to you when she' rocking or swinging you (swinging, swinging, swinging to and fro.....swinging, swinging, Lily loves it so)
• love to play on the bed after you get out of the bath - it's another one of our games - you want to be naked and squirm all over the bed with me chasing you and then I say "Daddy is going to come get you" and that just makes you giggle and squeal even more
• have the funniest expressions! and I hope that they will be imprinted in my memory because they are adorable and really make me laugh. My favorite is when your eyes get real big and you open your mouth and stick out your teeth. (it doesn't sound very cute but it is!!)
• slap my chest when you're nursing and sometimes slap me in the face or try to stick your finger up my nose :)
• love to pat the cake (especially playing with Daddy - "pat the cake on Daddy's hand") and you do the roll 'em up and the throwing them in the pan motion
• pretend that you're brushing your teeth when I sing "this is how we brush our teeth"
• can make several animal sounds (cat, dog, duck, chicken, cow) and you identify so many things! and some you have words for: all your bath toys, octopus "oct", ball "ball", baby "baby", outside "out", eye "eye", guitar "gar"
• hold your hands up when we say "touchdown"
• say "nay nay" when you want to nurse
• melt Daddy's heart when you call his name
• start bobbing your head and dancing when you hear music
• have a favorite song "Blue Danube Waltz" :) When you hear it on your mobile or the swing you sing along with it. It says "da na na na na" and you chime in on the next verse by saying "uh uh uh uh"
• point at the moles on my shoulder and say "mole" and sometimes you point at the logos on Daddy's shirt and say "mole" :)
• love to hear Daddy play guitar and sing to you (You are My Sunshine, Froggy went Courting, Crawdad Song)
• like to kick your heels on the ground when your sitting on the ground (even on ceramic tile!) I'm always afraid your going to hurt yourself.
• hold the phone to your ear and start babbling like your having a conversation with someone
• love it when Mommy's gone and Daddy gives you a bath in the kitchen sink
• like to throw things and say "ball" as they are flying through the air
• are very ticklish on the backs of your legs
• have bedtime stories before bed "Goodnight Moon" or "My Goodnight Book" and when we are finished reading you say "night night"
• are a little rough with other babies in the nursery and with Blake or John Michael when I'm babysitting (you have a thing about pulling their ears or their hair)
• are "over" babyfood - you like real food especially if you can feed yourself. favorites: egg bread, cheese, yogurt, beans
• don't like to be covered up so we dress you really warm for bedtime (I still think you sleep better with your footed pj's on)

Oh, what else can I say? I don't want to forget anything about you, Lily bean. You are growing and changing so much from day to day and you are so full of personality. God created an amazing person when He created you. I'm so glad we get to enjoy His masterpiece!! We love you and look forward to another year of YOU. :)