Friday, January 2, 2009

Twelve Months Old!

Emily,

Wow, what a year 2008 has been!  Your arrival at the beginning of last year changed so much about my life, and now I simply can't imagine what things were like without you here.  What in the world did I do with all of my time?!  And now, you are officially a whole year old! You have gone from a teeny, tiny helpless creature to a vibrant, energetic, bright eyed little girl.  You have gone from a brunette to a blond, and from a wriggling but stationary baby to a child that claps and dances and never, not for hardly a second, stays still.  Your dad and I look at friends who have recently had babies and can scarcely recall what it was like to hold someone so small.



In this most recent month you have learned a few new tricks: how to hug your new baby doll, how to stack blocks (and not just knock them down), how to say mama discriminately, and how to climb up and down stairs with amazing proficiency.  You are eating more and more adult foods like lasagna and pizza and spinach bars and pancakes.  You babble almost constantly, and some of your chatter really sounds like whole sentences.  I swear I've heard you say "all done", and "I do", and "this" multiple times.  And, maybe you really are.  Only you know for sure!  The other morning though, you were whining in your high chair after you finished your breakfast and I was doing dishes.  Finally, you stopped, and said "mama, ah don" and waved your hands in the air (the sign for all done)!  Progress.


You learned to throw temper tantrums this month and will throw a fit about random things that perturb you.  I think it's just a tiny bit funny (until you've done this for the tenth time in one day), which probably isn't the most "motherly" response.  But, I can't take you seriously!  You also definitely comprehend the word no, and if I say it in a non-scary voice, sometimes you even listen to me.  Of course, sometimes you also throw one of those tantrums, but you will generally stop doing the thing I don't want you to do (even if you don't like it).


But, Em, even when you're not on your best behavior, I still love you like crazy.  Some of my favorite memories from the past year are watching you learn to smile, crawl, and laugh, singing to you at night before putting you to sleep, having you learn to hug and cuddle me before you go down for naps, seeing your eyes light up when I walk into a room, watching the way your daddy looks at you, taking you for countless walks in the baby bjorn (my back may never be the same) and learning to love someone with so much of myself that I'll never be the same again.

I thank God for His precious gift and can't wait to see what the next year of your life holds!

Love,

Mommy

4 comments:

  1. Heather Jason and AnnaJanuary 2, 2009 at 10:14 AM

    Dear Emily,
    Happy Birthday!! You are a very precious and funny baby! We hope that your mom and dad will take pictures of your birthday and post them on the blog. :)
    love, Heather, Jason, and Anna

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  2. Happy Birthday, precious Granddaughter! We enjoy spending time with you, making funny noises and playing with you, reading to you, and watching you grow. We praise and thank God for you and your parents!

    Grandmother Evonne

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  3. Happy Birthday, Emily! I have loved watching you change and grow from a distance via your mom & dad's blog. It's made me even more excited about the year ahead with my own little girl. :) I hope you two can meet each other in April. I'll look forward to seeing an even bigger, more clever and accomplished Emily then!

    Lots of love,
    Kari

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