Today my baby girl turned one. All the veteran parents tell me how with each consecutive kid the time flies by exponentially and this has so far proven true. With the oldest, everything is new with each passing year. The next ones file in line and you wake up one day and she’s walking. Then talking. Then going to prom. Eeck. 

I’m a bit saddened that Miss M only has 3 months left as the baby before moving into Older Sister ranks. In the past several weeks she’s been such a delight, discovering new things and engaging people in ways she hadn’t before. She’ll be a wonderful big sis, but I’ve enjoyed her as the baby girl. I really hope she’s not being jipped out of some special spotlight time with the new addition. But she has such personality that I think it will be hard to loose her in the shuffle. 
So a bit about the little lady on this monumental day:
  • She’s trying to mimic words: thank you, milk, mommy/daddy, more, animal sounds, choo choo… Just tonight H was singing O’Toodles (from Mickey) and we hear M follow up.. “oooo toooo tooo”. 
  • She’s an eating machine. Probably more than H eats at this point (he’s slowed down significantly over the winter. Hibernation?). For her birthday celebration we grilled chicken soak, had baked beans, a few picnic-y salads and she shared her cake – Pineapple Upside Down – as it’s also her daddy’s favorite. 
  • She’s taking many consecutive steps! She’ll often take off from standing by the coffee table, especially if she thinks no one is looking. I think we’re going to have some races before too long. 
  • She’ll blow kisses night night or even give you a real one (if you’re in the elite circle). She was nuzzling with me at church this morning. Oh, how a mom treasures those times. 
  • She’s almost done with her bottles. She only gets one at night, but we’re on the last can of formula and I’m not buying more, so we’re about done. The past few nights she hasn’t even finished off what we’ve offered. Such a big girl. 
  • She’s such a good listener! Tonight husband was already upstairs, so I just asked M to go upstairs to put on her jammies. And she did it. She’ll put her bink back in bed when we ask and sit down in her high chair (from standing) when firmly reminded. She knows so much more than what we think!
  • She’s even aware of dressing – she’ll try to put on shoes (mine, hers, whatever is close). She got a pair of bunny ears for her birthday and she tried to put them on her head. She even held  a new shirt she got for her birthday up to her face, I think because she was trying to put it on. Maybe we will be able to leave the house completely dressed with three of them. 
  • She loves to press buttons that make music. We have a hand-me-down Disney princess book that stays on the coffee table as a makeshift jukebox. She’ll sway with the music and even bob her head. She got a new set of wheels today that plays fairy music. Can I tell you the delight that brings everyone in this household? (Yes, you might detect a slight bit of sarcasm in that statement). 
  • She’ll do anything that her big brother is doing – pulling cushions down from the couch and jump on them, climb things, try to ride his “car” (she’s nearly able to get a leg over on her own). I can hear the tune playing now… “anything you can do I can do better….”
So that’s our little lady in a nutshell. She so bright and fun (well, when Aunt Gigi isn’t around, right? She chippered right up this evening after the big crew left…). And she has a new pile of pink threads that mama needs to wash, so it’s time to wrap this one up. 
Happy Birthday my sweet Miss M.