The View From Here: one

I can't believe this little miss is one year old today. Thinking back to one year ago, her birth brought me a little glimmer of hope and joy in a really difficult time. I feel so completely happy that she is a year old. We are both healthier, happier and even more in love than we were back then.

This girl is quite in love with me, in fact. She is a momma's girl through and through. Sometimes it can be inconvenient to have such a momma's girl for a baby, but most of the time I love that just being in my arms can make her completely content. I love that she needs me. . .most of the time.

At just one year old this girl can already say several words, understands even more, and stood all by herself for the first time earlier this week.
She gets absolutely thrilled when she talks to her daddy on the phone- probably more than the other kids even.
She loves water- swimming, bathing, puddles, squirt bottles- as long as there's water!
She adores her brother and sister and looks for them when they're not around.
She is still a bit rough these days, as far as grabbing and picking at whoever is holding her.
Her favorite thing is putting her fingers in someone's nose and mouth and batting their face. It's not that fun for the recipient, but she sure loves it.
She is content to ride in her infant car seat for a couple more months, and loves being sandwiched between her two siblings.
Her favorite foods are any type of grain- cracker, bread, pasta.
She also loves zucchini and applesauce, but any other fruit or veggie is a gamble. Sometimes she'll love a banana, other times she'll look at you like you just tried to poison her with it. Sometimes she'll refuse a certain food, until I put it on a fork for her to control, then she'll gobble it right up.
Her hair is getting long and curls in the back. It's getting thick and has a hint of strawberry blonde.
I still have not put her in a pair of jeans. We're looking at least until she's walking for that.
She is not very close to walking. She can stand on her own as of this week!
She loves kitties. She has several kitty books and gets so excited when she sees them. She also loves looking at Grandma's kitty through the window.
Her very favorite songs are The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Maybe because those are the ones we sing most often, but she will do the actions. I love, love, love seeing her little fists twist around as she does her little spider. So cute!