ONE

Pinch me… my baby can’t actually be 1 year old already! I don’t believe it.
I won’t believe it.
In fact, I refuse to believe it because the thought of her growing up is actually painful to me. She’s hit milestone after milestone this year, and instead of jumping for joy, I pick her up and cradle her, “okay,you can do just this, but no more growing up,” I tell her.

June 20th was her first birthday. And in the 12 months since her birth she grew from this…

To this….

I won’t retell her birth story. You can read it, here. But I will tell you that the day she was born, my life got brighter.

She is walking now, and she’s pretty proud of herself. When her brothers and sister are around she prefers to be held, but when they’re away she feels safe enough to explore the house.

She’s eating anything and everything. Her favorite food is watermelon! She is obsessed and will eat a half of a watermelon in 1 day (that is not an exaggeration). Other things she likes are yogurt, applesauce, and pasta.

She’s a dancer. Whenever she hears the faintest sound of music, she lifts her arms into the air and shakes her hands back and forth. Her legs lift one and a time and she slouches up and down. It’s pretty adorable. She especially loves the Tangled and “Where The Wild Things Are” soundtracks.

Morning is my favorite time of day with this girl. She wakes early before anyone else. I get her out of her bed and we cuddle quietly before the other wild animals wake up. She smothers me in her open-mouthed slobber kisses, on my forehead, chin, collar bone, and anywhere except my mouth. She thinks it’s funny to blow raspberries on my arm or cheek, and I can predict to get about a dozen of those as well.

She loves playing with cell phones and my ipad. Play, as in walk around pushing buttons and pretending like she’s an adult (how old is this girl anyway?)

She’s pretty small, in the 5th percentile.

She LOVES babies! To death. She is very social and gets right in the face of other babies, pulls their hair, steals their toys (all that good stuff that other mom’s love). None of my other children were so forward, so this is new for me. But, if an adult approaches or talks to her, she nuzzles herself into my shoulder, not so social anymore.

She’s my sunshine!
She is everyone’s sunshine. She is adored, played with, and cared for by her siblings. They actually fight for her affection at times. I don’t blame them, she is irresistible!

I had a difficult time choosing my favorite picture, so I’m posting them all, I’m sorry.
And I have to include one of these, because quite frankly, crying babies are adorable. She was upset that I stopped her from pulling of her hair bow.

Happy Birthday little Neddy! Mommy loves you more and more everyday. I will allow just this 1 birthday, but absolutely no more growing up.