I, of course, am late in recapping my sweet baby girl's first year. I would have loved to have had this ready to post with her party pictures ... but I am who I am ... and I am delayed with the updates. This is a long retelling of what my sweet little girl is doing today. I have written it mostly for myself, so I can remember what she was like at this age but also for our family who love her dearly but do not get to see her on a daily basis. I put the pictures first for those of you who just wanted to look. They start with her first day and go through her first birthday. It was so hard to just pick a few that "recapped" her first year. I can't believe how much babies grow in just a year's time. She was so helpless and now is walking all over the house and feeding herself table food. Time has flown and it has been the best ride! I hear it only goes faster from here on out.
We had a good doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago at her one year check up. Anna Kate now weighs 24 lbs 12 oz (90%) and is 31 inches (97%) tall. She has 7 teeth and seems "right on target" in most areas. She is walking now and is getting so much better each day. I feel like by Christmas she'll be running everywhere as she falls less and less. She doesn't say a whole lot of (understandable) words yet. She says "Dada" and can whine "Mama" on a good day. She loves to say "Hi" in a cute, high-pitched voice. And we are working on "up". She doesn't have the syllables yet, but she totally copies the inflection in my voice. I love it! She waves (especially to airplanes!) and claps, and blows kisses. And the girl loves dancing to a good beat. She got a ball popper for her birthday and enjoys dancing to the music more than watching the balls pop out of the top. When Anna Kate was a little baby, she LOVED the "friends" (as we lovingly called them) on her mobile above her crib. She seemed to go through a phase where she didn't notice them at all, but now she has found her love for them again! She giggles at them during nap/bedtime and wants to catch them and kiss them before we put her in and when we take her out of her crib. And she takes after her Daddy (and not her Mama - thank goodness!) and LOVES to read. She will pull all of the books off of her shelves and just sit and look at them forever. When she gets tired of looking at them by herself, she will bring them to us and sit with us and enjoy listening to us read to her. She is a very good page turner and I think her most (consistent) favorite has been "My first ABC lift-the-flap board book". This book is WELL loved and will have to be replaced when it is time to return it to the original owner, her cousin Avery.
Anna Kate is absolutely the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. She is so much fun! She has the sweetest giggle (I'm sure you all think your own babies have the sweetest giggle, but I'm positive AK is the VERY sweetest.) :) I really love it when she is tired and giggly (definitely beats tired and cranky!) I just love it when it is really easy to make her laugh. She is a pretty laid back kid - very "go with the flow". She is a great shopper (which is especially wonderful for her slow and phlegmatic mother) and she really enjoys other children. I think she will really push Robby and I through our introverted limits. I feel like she will be our social butterfly. The more she grows, however, the more opinions we see her forming. She is not afraid to tell us when we've 'wronged' her. I sometimes wonder if she'll have a bit of a temper or if it will just be more of a strong will.
Anna Kate has been a Mama's girl from the start, but has recently started to look towards the door and say "Dada?" while Robby is away. She really enjoys calling him on the phone and she gives the BEST greetings when Robby and I walk through the door after we've been gone. She says "Hi" with a wave (and maybe a few blown kisses) and a huge smile and then starts to clap. I won't lie, it is a pretty great thing to be applauded when you come home. And her kisses are to die for. She just opens her mouth and sticks out her tongue. :) I love watching her face curl when she feels Robby's beard on her tongue.
Is that enough adoration for our sweet baby girl??!! We are obviously over then moon for her and cannot imagine our lives without her. All of the old cliche's are true. "It is different when they are your own" is probably the one that I think of the most often. It is absolutely true. As a caregiver, I always thought that bodily fluids of any kind are gross no matter who they come from. And while that is very true ... it is different to be thrown up on or pooped on by your own child rather than someone else's kid. The ear wax isn't QUITE as disgusting and the smelly feet are a little more kissable when they belong to your own baby. We love love love this precious being and pray for continued help and wisdom as we learn from our mistakes and grow as parents. I always thought that being a mother was my "life's career" - the one thing that I could truly be passionate about and the thing I felt like I was made to do "well". And while I have my days of feeling like the WORST mother of the century ... I truly and completely love this with all of my heart and feel SO incredibly blessed that God would bless me with a child to love and care for. Thank you Lord for the grace and mercy you give me through Anna Kate each day!
.JPG)
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