Happy Birthday baby!

My baby is 1. O-N-E. That went fast!

What an awesome year. Our lives truly changed forever at 11:15 p.m. on June 24, 2010. We knew we’d love her but I don’t think we realized how much.  Because of Faith, we smile more, laugh more and say “did you see what she just did?” a whole lot more. She continues to amaze us daily.We are proud of our little lady, or shall I say “yiddle yady” as I did when I was 3.In honor of the big 0-1, here is another list of 24 things…

To Faith:

1) Happy Girl – I don’t know what we did right, but you are one of the happiest and most content babies anyone has ever met. You smile your little ornery, scrunched-up-nose grin at pretty much everyone.

 
2) Howie lover –  You have learned the difference between dog toys and your toys. Now when we hand you one of his, you hold it out to him like, “Hey, come get this from me.” You are getting better at petting him though sometimes you treat him like a toy. He is wary of your flying sippy cups but loves that you (purposefully) drop scraps for him. It’s a great working relationship.

3) Big Kid Now -You went and grew up on me these last few months. You can’t quite walk yet, but you do this thing where you pull yourself up onto your pink rocker, jump down, grab a paci, shove it in your mouth and climb up in the chair again which just blows me away because it makes you seem like such a toddler.

4) Teeth – you are finally getting your top chompers (yes, 3 all at once). We recently started brushing your teeth and you seem to like it better than Howie, so that’s good. The first time we tried it though, your expression cracked me up.

5) Yum Yums – You don’t eat much pureed food anymore and are a pro at feeding yourself. You recently started going “mmmmmmm” when you think something is good and it appears you like everything, especially breads and cottage cheese. But not mac and cheese (that’s against kid code by the way).

6) You Scream for Ice Cream – literally, we gave it to you once and when I ran out (silly me, I took a few bites too) you got mad and cried. You definitely have Weis blood in you.

 7) “The books” say no more babas for one-year-olds. The books never met you. You are a grump in the morning until you’ve had that bottle and then it’s a personality transplant. So hopefully you’re not drinking beer out of Dr. Brown’s when you turn 21!

8) Cartoooooons – Daddy got you hooked on Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso (3 Special Steps!). You can often hear him saying “I cannot BElieeeve it!”

9) Peek a Boo -You absolutely love “peek-a-boo” books. You turn over the flaps yourself and then mumble jibberish like you are reading.
10) Dr. Seuess – Too bad there’s not a game show that involves having his books memorized. Mommy would win big $. We read to you every night before bed and depending on the night, you listen to anywhere from 2-16 books. You’ll probably be a rhyming genius by age 3.

11) Daddy’s girl – You and dad continue to develop a bond like no other. He is so proud of his baby girl! Sometimes I get a little jealous that you two get to spend so much time together, but that is such an awesome opportunity for both of you that most dads and daughters don’t get.

12) Sleeping Beauty – We’ve had it pretty easy in this department, but on nights when I go into your room 3 or 4 times to search for the pacifier underneath your crib and replace it in your mouth, I wonder if I’m doing either of us any favors.

 
13) Creepy Crawler – I didn’t think you’d ever crawl like a normal kid, but a couple months ago you just started doing in and have really improved your 40 yard dash times. I predict you’ll be walking in the next month or two!

14) Wordy woman – Your first official word was bye-bye, complete with the wave when I dropped you off at daycare one morning. Dad also got you singing na-na-na. You love to point at any and everything and say ba-ba?

15) Mwwwaahhh! I kiss your chubby cheeks approximately 572 times each day. I just love how they feel and I know you won’t let me do it all that much longer 🙁 You on the other hand and not a good kisser, but a biter. People are going to think daddy and I are weird if they see bites marks on our necks, K…

16) Before you go thinking you’re a complete angel, you must know that you’ve also slapped a few people (and I’m not talking about high fives). They mainly just laugh which I’m sure only encourages you. Ornery much?

17) Curly Q – Everybody asks where you got your curls. I present to you Exhibit A.

18) Animal Lover -You are amazed by animals. We took you to the zoo today and I loved watching you watch the sharks and eels. I love seeing the world through your beautiful blue-green , but mostly blue, eyes.

19) Small Fry – You are still a petite little baby. You weigh 18 pounds and some odd ounces. We officially find out Tuesday at your 1-year-checkup where you will be getting too many shots. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.

20) Snack attack – You’ve moved on from Gerber puffs to veggie crunches. May the force be with the person who tries to get between you and your veggie crunches.

21) Picture People – Your daddy and I took you and Howie to have your pictures taken yesterday. All the pictures cost $75 (don’t judge) but I think I would’ve paid more than $100 if there were a video of the process. Let’s just say photographer Dave earned his paycheck that night.

22) Stairmaster – You are quite the climber, and when you get to the top, you love to reward yourself with a big handful of Howie food. Don’t worry, we never let you eat it. The relationship between you two is not reciprocal.

23) You’re a TV star – You woke up just in time to see yourself on first birthdays. Daddy laughed when he saw your picture. Others said you look just like your mama! I said “thanks” assuming that’s a compliment 🙂

24) Blessed- Just so you know, you are the best thing that’s ever happened to your dad and me. We are so happy and proud to be your parents. Please don’t get all embarrassed of us too soon OK? I cannot wait to see what this next year brings. Happy Birthday baby girl!