Dirt Road Mama: ONE.

This post should have been up on Friday, but Blogger was down! So here we have our 1 year birthday girl post!

Our little peanut angel banana babygirl buddy sillypants is one year old!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABYCAKE!!

I thought it would be fun to go back, and look at her one MONTH post, and compare the observations and things I wrote about her then, and see how true they still are now - or how much she has grown!

1 month:
She's not a complainer. She tells us what she wants. If she's crying, she wants something. She never cries for no reason - she's either hungry or gassy. And she gives little shrieks, and then she's fine. It's quite hilarious. Sometimes she shrieks, and then just passes out the next second later, seemingly forgetting what she wanted in the first place.

1 year:
She is still not a complainer! She has been the easiest-going little babe. She only cries when she is hungry, or tired. And when I know she is not due for a meal, and she's crying inexplicably, I'll say, "Babygirl, tell mama what you want." , and she signs milk. Which means she gets milk, and then goes down for a nap. Clockwork, every single day, this happens. It is the most amazing thing every to be able to communicate with her. Lately, she signs milk every hour though. Girlfriend loves her milk!

1 month:
She likes having her little fists next to her face. Since the day she was born, she punches those little arms out of her swaddle so she could wave hello to everyone. And of course hug her Mama.

1 year:
She is ALWAYS putting EVERYTHING on her face. Her hands, blankets, clothes - whatever is near her, goes next to her face/on her head. Or in her mouth. Girlfriend is super tactile/oral. If she can see it, she wants it in her hands to study it and learn about it.

[Mama, I found some gwass. Can I eat it?]

1 month:
She loves to eat! I mean, look at those chins! Since the moment she was born she's been a little breastfeeding champ. It is the most unbelievable thing. And if anyone is holding her when she's hungry, she'll suck on you until you give her to her mama. :)

1 year:
I teared up reading that last sentence. Just cause her mama isn't the only one who can feed her anymore. May 13 was our last day breastfeeding. But it's funny, she still loves her food! She doesn't ever make a huge mess, rarely throws her food, she just eats so slowly and calmly, and then signs "please" when she's done so I'll refill her plate. The doctor told me recently, "Well, the hard part is done. You don't have to be in charge of how much she's eating- she'll totally determine that now. You're only job is to offer her the very best healthy foods that you can." It is my mission to make sure I do that for my girl.

1 month:
She loves her Daddy. His chest is her favorite place to sleep. And she'll just stare at him when she hears his voice. She makes him laugh every day. They're pretty much BFF.

1 year:
Is this ever the truth. She could be fussing about something, and as SOON as he walks in the door from work she will starting laughing, crawl over, and just follow him around. No one makes her giggle like her Daddy. And no one makes her sleep like her daddy either! I call him the Baby Whisperer, because if she is sick and not sleeping well - he goes in there and soothes her right back to sleep in minutes. It's crazy! And they pretty much are BFF. Case in point: The first thing she learned to say aside from "Dada" and "Mama" - "Hi, Buddy." Which is what Hubby says to her every single day, multiple times a day.

1 month:
She loves sleeping, like her Mama! We just have to work on the length of time that she sleeps. We'll get there.

1 year:
We did get there! 12 hours, every night! I thank God I am given that time to sleep. He knows I need it. I knew we would get there baby!

1 month:
She's so content. She'll be awake and just lay there like a sweetheart observing her world.

1 year:
This is THE MOST true of any of these statements. Content is the best way to describe her - and it's the first thing the doctor will say when he sees her, or strangers while we are shopping or walking. When kids are usually fussing, she is chillin' out. And she is the queen observer of the world - her auntie calls her Inspector Gadget. Nothing gets by her. If there are 15 people in the room, and a new person walks in, she will stare at them until she figures them out and/or they fawn all over her. She's cool with either one.

1 month:
She likes to exercise. No one believed me that she had the strongest kicks in the world when she was in my belly. But now she kicks her blankets off, she kicks her diaper off (it's true, it happened once), and we can barely hold her legs when we change her! She's a strong little bugger.

1 year:
Yep. She still kicks those legs a mile a minute when she's going to sleep. My girlfriends came to visit and slept in her room, and said it sounded like she was doing kickline. Those legs are bound to be useful to her someday, I tell ya, because she has been working them out for almost 2 years now! She's not into walking yet - she's totally okay with crawling. But one day...watch out...big things are coming. And the other day, she was only in a diaper, and she actually took off her own diaper. I turned my back, and next thing I know, she is a little nudie holding a diaper!

1 month:
She has her Mama's eyes. Which makes me so happy.

1 year:
She still has my eyes. Except they are a glorious, beautiful, sparkly blue. So really, they are her Mima's eyes. They are the biggest eyes I have ever seen, and her whole personality shines in them.

1 month:
She loves watching the trees. Her changing table it right next to the window, and she stares at the trees in the wind when we change her.

1 year:
She reacts to being outside like most kids react to Elmo. I will walk outside with her in the morning - literally, one step outside - and she will start laughing. When we start approaching the waterfalls on out road (she can hear them), she starts bouncing up and down. She loves watching the water. I can't wait to take her in the river!

1 month:
She loves her Mama. We spend every day together, and taking care of her is my favorite thing I've ever done. She's my little soul sister.

1 year:
I am a little freaked out that exactly 11 month ago, I wrote the same exact sentence that I wrote in yesterday's post. She is my little soul sister. My partner in crime. I feel happy when I'm near her, I love that I know everything about her personality. I love that this year was only the beginning of our fun together.

1 month:
She loves music. I sing to her, she she calms right down and listens. And her favorite song is Fur Elise. When we play her baby Beethoven, she is mesmerized when the song comes on.

1 year:
As soon as a song comes on, even if it is a ringtone, she starts dancing. Her taste is not as refined as it was - now she likes anything with a beat that she can bounce to. We are going to dance with every day, like Ellen would, so she tears up dance floors like her Aunt Mimi. She is a little ham.