my one year old.
happy birthday my darling, bella bird!
this last month alone i feel like you have grown up on me more than ever before.
my little red,
when i think about this time last year i can't believe it.
i can think back to the denial i was in during the onset of labor and then suddenly there you were.
and there i was. holding you, in disbelief.
i don't know if there are words to say how much i love you, but the phrase "i love you to the moon and back" rings true, bird.
you are so much fun! you point at everything and exclaim "dat" with the most excited voice. you LOVE pointing at people's pictures on the refrigerator. who needs toys? we have the refrigerator! and you've found your little spot in one of our cabinets. an investigator, you are - there is no question. everything has to be turned over and over and over again. you need to look at the front of the cell phone and then the back... and so on and so forth.
you like to climb up on people on the ground and sneak up on either side. it's your little game and it brings you such joy. you are perfectly capable of walking, but are still a little timid. you've taken 2, 3, 4 steps here or there when you don't mean to, but prefer crawling because you know it's faster. i've tried to entice you with food, but you decide to crawl to the food. smart kid, i can't fool you. your first official multiple steps were on halloween morning with pawpaw and dada. of course, i missed them, but since you have gone back and forth with walking and crawling i guess i didn't miss the real moment when you "take off" ...
[ ok... well, i started this earlier today AND tonight on the eve of your birthday you decided to almost "take off" - some how dada and i made it more of a game and you consistently took 6-10 steps back to each of us! you realized it was fun when we encouraged you and it seemed to build up your confidence. it was very sweet! ]
your vocab is pretty funny! "mingem" is still a favorite word along with dada and Dat! you imitate almost everything even tho it doesn't come out clear you really give words a try. "deedle deedle deedle" is another favorite and you've tried pawpaw, but it sounds like baba and you do say moma too, but not sure if in context. "nu nu nu" means nurse. i know this because it comes with you tugging at my shirt "trying to get in there." you also imitate yawning and other similar sounds.
the other day you were squealing while eating and you hurt my ears and i said "no no no no no" as an immediate reaction because my ears felt like they left a concert. (i may still be recovering!) a few moments later your daddy told me you were mocking me with "na na na na na" - hahah sure, as shit you were! stinker.
you imitate trying to write with a pen on paper.
you pretend feed the baby dolls and kiss the baby when i tell you to give the baby kisses.
you respond to commands now:
"go get the baby"
"put your baba in" (in the morning put your paci in your bed)
"want to eat some food?" and you put your hand in your mouth and pretend to eat it.
it's been so much easier communicating with little symbols and seeing how repetition plays a role. sometimes you still scream when you want more food instead of using the more symbol, but i try to remind you to use it before giving you more. it helps my eardrums.
you have a set of LUNGS!
which the apple doesn't fall far... my nickname was lungs for a while. i obviously don't remember when i was your age, but i know i yelled A LOT! i can vaguely remember yelling so loud as a kid. what a joy i was...
mamaw says you remind her of me as a baby. she described me in my baby books as athletic, strong, belly laughs, strong willed. no wonder you are awesome haha!
even though you are strong willed and are physically strong and determined you have a cuddly side (like me again muwhahahaha!). you find a little notch and lay your head down and love to snuggle at bed time and from time to time just like to be held.
when you are excited you are reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally excited! i mean, you literally bounce up and down with a huge grin on your face. intense little girl! you love music and always dance when it comes on. always. even if it's not dance music aka you dance to cell phone rings. you sometimes attack books now, but you still love them. so far we respect books for the most part, but i've taken away the ones you try to eat. yes, eat. i love watching you look at every page and turn them on your own. as boisterous as you are when excited you still have a soft, quiet time side when you need it. tonight you couldn't stop looking at betty crocker in her cookbook. talk about squealing with delight! betty apparently brings out your best.
there isn't much food i don't give you.
and there isn't much food you don't like.
you are sort of obsessed with food. if someone has food, you have to have it. you practically beg like a dog. half the time i have no idea if you are hungry, but you don't stop going at it until you have it. hmm.
you still are into nursing, love it a lot, but significantly less.
morning. post work. evening.
when i am home on weekends and Friday's you choose to nurse after naps.
that's where it gets a little confusing. it's not that i mind, but i'm not sure how to end those when it's all you want after you nap. i know i am not hurting you so we nurse. you like the comfort and closeness. no harm done. moma produces what she needs so we are all good. i've given away over 200 oz of milk because i you don't take much with other people anymore and i didn't want it to go bad. it's not a bad production problem to have...
your cousin josie really loves to play with you and you love to play with her and love to touch your younger cousin, dalia. babies grab your attention - in books, on video, on screen, or in person they make you so happy. you also Looooove both female neighbors and they seem to dote on you back!
people still comment on how good natured you are - "she's so happy" people say. they are right, bird. you are primarily happy. you get pissed easily if you can't open something or get what you want (...apple doesn't fall far again), but you are quick to get over it and 95% of the time you are a happy pants.
little girl, you are so much fun.
you've added such a new dynamic to our family, naturally.
we love you to the moon and back.
moma bird (and dada bird too!)
this last month alone i feel like you have grown up on me more than ever before.
my little red,
when i think about this time last year i can't believe it.
i can think back to the denial i was in during the onset of labor and then suddenly there you were.
and there i was. holding you, in disbelief.
i don't know if there are words to say how much i love you, but the phrase "i love you to the moon and back" rings true, bird.
you are so much fun! you point at everything and exclaim "dat" with the most excited voice. you LOVE pointing at people's pictures on the refrigerator. who needs toys? we have the refrigerator! and you've found your little spot in one of our cabinets. an investigator, you are - there is no question. everything has to be turned over and over and over again. you need to look at the front of the cell phone and then the back... and so on and so forth.
your vocab is pretty funny! "mingem" is still a favorite word along with dada and Dat! you imitate almost everything even tho it doesn't come out clear you really give words a try. "deedle deedle deedle" is another favorite and you've tried pawpaw, but it sounds like baba and you do say moma too, but not sure if in context. "nu nu nu" means nurse. i know this because it comes with you tugging at my shirt "trying to get in there." you also imitate yawning and other similar sounds.
the other day you were squealing while eating and you hurt my ears and i said "no no no no no" as an immediate reaction because my ears felt like they left a concert. (i may still be recovering!) a few moments later your daddy told me you were mocking me with "na na na na na" - hahah sure, as shit you were! stinker.
you imitate trying to write with a pen on paper.
you pretend feed the baby dolls and kiss the baby when i tell you to give the baby kisses.
you respond to commands now:
"go get the baby"
"put your baba in" (in the morning put your paci in your bed)
"want to eat some food?" and you put your hand in your mouth and pretend to eat it.
it's been so much easier communicating with little symbols and seeing how repetition plays a role. sometimes you still scream when you want more food instead of using the more symbol, but i try to remind you to use it before giving you more. it helps my eardrums.
you have a set of LUNGS!
which the apple doesn't fall far... my nickname was lungs for a while. i obviously don't remember when i was your age, but i know i yelled A LOT! i can vaguely remember yelling so loud as a kid. what a joy i was...
mamaw says you remind her of me as a baby. she described me in my baby books as athletic, strong, belly laughs, strong willed. no wonder you are awesome haha!
even though you are strong willed and are physically strong and determined you have a cuddly side (like me again muwhahahaha!). you find a little notch and lay your head down and love to snuggle at bed time and from time to time just like to be held.
when you are excited you are reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally excited! i mean, you literally bounce up and down with a huge grin on your face. intense little girl! you love music and always dance when it comes on. always. even if it's not dance music aka you dance to cell phone rings. you sometimes attack books now, but you still love them. so far we respect books for the most part, but i've taken away the ones you try to eat. yes, eat. i love watching you look at every page and turn them on your own. as boisterous as you are when excited you still have a soft, quiet time side when you need it. tonight you couldn't stop looking at betty crocker in her cookbook. talk about squealing with delight! betty apparently brings out your best.
and there isn't much food you don't like.
you are sort of obsessed with food. if someone has food, you have to have it. you practically beg like a dog. half the time i have no idea if you are hungry, but you don't stop going at it until you have it. hmm.
you still are into nursing, love it a lot, but significantly less.
morning. post work. evening.
when i am home on weekends and Friday's you choose to nurse after naps.
that's where it gets a little confusing. it's not that i mind, but i'm not sure how to end those when it's all you want after you nap. i know i am not hurting you so we nurse. you like the comfort and closeness. no harm done. moma produces what she needs so we are all good. i've given away over 200 oz of milk because i you don't take much with other people anymore and i didn't want it to go bad. it's not a bad production problem to have...
your cousin josie really loves to play with you and you love to play with her and love to touch your younger cousin, dalia. babies grab your attention - in books, on video, on screen, or in person they make you so happy. you also Looooove both female neighbors and they seem to dote on you back!
people still comment on how good natured you are - "she's so happy" people say. they are right, bird. you are primarily happy. you get pissed easily if you can't open something or get what you want (...apple doesn't fall far again), but you are quick to get over it and 95% of the time you are a happy pants.
little girl, you are so much fun.
you've added such a new dynamic to our family, naturally.
we love you to the moon and back.
moma bird (and dada bird too!)
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