Life with a One Year Old

I still can't believe a whole year has gone by since Breah first came into our lives. She is just growing up too darn fast. I never thought it was possible to love someone so much, and in such a short amount of time. She is everything to us and our lives wouldn't be the same without her. And because she's getting so big so fast, I want to record some little tidbits so we never forget.

Breah gives the best kisses ever. She opens her mouth wide and slobbers all over your cheeks. If you are lucky you may even get a little nip. But she's pretty stingy with her kisses and only gives them when she wants to (usually before bed). She gives her reflection kisses all the time and sometimes she even gives kisses through the phone.

I guess I always thought babies were kinda stupid, cuz I'm always amazed at how smart she is. For example, everytime she hears "go", "by" or "leave" she waves. It's really cute, she has to look at her hand to make sure it's doing what she wants it to, and if both hands are empty she waves with both. She's a little slow to wave to people though--she doens't catch on til they are out of sight, then it's like "oh, they (or we) went bye bye" and then she waves. And Breah loves food. When she gets hungry she will go to the pantry find the granola bars (she LOVES FiberOne bars and the yogurt dipped kind) and bring it to me to open. If the door is closed she will sit in front of it adn say "numa numa numa" til I open it. Every time the fridge gets opened she makes a mad dash to get in before it closes. One time she actually threw her body onto the tile to make it in time. You'd think the poor girl never ate, but trust me she does, she's just figured out a way to get what she wants. She also sleeps with a binky, but she knows that it stays in the crib, so when you pick her up she will hand it to you--see what I mean, she's a freakin genious!

And new this week, tantrums! Of all the things that come naturally to babies, why does this have to be one of them? Luckily they aren't too bad yet. When she is mad or doesn't get what she wants, she throws herself on the ground (carpet, tile, cement...doesn't matter) and cries, usually less than 30 seconds, but still! She's also started walking this week. She is getting more and more confident on her feet and is steady enough now that she can push her stroller (before she would just go flying because it wasn't heavy enough to support her weight) and has even started taking a couple steps at a time. She found a blanket the other day that she all of the sudden loves. She drags it around, plays peekaboo with it, and cuddles on the floor with it. There isn't anything particularly special about this blanket (except it was made by her Great Grandma Dansie), but it's only this blanket she cares for, and infact dislikes (as in they make her cry) dolls and other cuddly items.

Breah is a pretty happy little girl. She has a great love of phones, purses, and pretties. She spends hours talking on the phone, and if we are out, she has to have a purse to carry. If I forget hers she will carry mine for me. She loves to be up on the bed and couch and can get down all by herself, and her most favorite thing of all is being outside. She loves to go on walks, play in the grass, sort rocks, and ride her bus up and down the driveway.

She does have a few dislikes too. She doesn't much care for being left with babysitters, and she loves books as long as she doesn't have sit still to read them. She doesn't like having church from 2-5, she thinks it would be much more fun if she wasn't unbarably tired and had to sit in one place all the time. She's also not a fan of sharing her toys or having to say goodbye to company, cuz then she's stuck with borin old mom. And she absolutely hates it when she has to go to bed against her will, but luckily that's more of the exception than the rule.

What an eventful year you've had, little one. Sure do love having you around, you make my day!