One Year Old

It's hard to put into words what this year this has been. It's been challenging, wonderful and (obviously) life-changing. Charlotte is my most tangible joy. Being her mother is beyond a gift. Beyond a blessing. It is the thing that my life was meant for. It's such an honor to raise her and watch her grow every day. I think I would maybe feel a little heartbroken about Charlotte no longer being a baby and entering her toddler years if I didn't know another baby was on his way :) But at the same time, each stage with her has been more fun than the last.

Enough rambling and onward to her ONE YEAR UPDATE!

- Said her first word..."WOW!" I think this is a pretty fantastic first word, and SO her :) She makes lots of sounds that are close to words, but this was the first intentional word

- All about opening and closing doors

- Still a dancing machine

- Understands what 'no' means, but doesn't really have an interest in obeying ;)

- Has basically cut out her morning nap, although she will occasionally want one...This has made her afternoon nap a lot longer, so I can deal with the change :)

- SUPER in love with her stuffed bunny. I'm so glad we made the decision early on to have it be a crib toy only. Otherwise, that bunny would have been lost long ago!

- Phased out her bottle all on her own. I didn't really have to do anything, it just sort of happened. I'll miss feeding her, it was the one time during the day she would sit still with me!

- has 8 teeth and working on some more

- likes to carry objects around the house and make a lap...she'll grab a hair brush and walk around and around. It's pretty funny to watch, especially when she's dragging around something awkwardly big for her, like Matt's suit jacket :)

- Loves to play by herself during the day, which has been such a blessing as I get more and more pregnant...If she can see me, she's happy :)

- Has become SUCH a daddy's girl...it's just about the sweetest thing

I'll leave you with a picture from each month of Charlotte's first year:

Days before she was born

The day she was born

1 month old

2 Months old

3 Months old

4 Months old

5 Months old

6 Months old

7 Months old

8 Months old

9 Months old

10 Months old

11 Months old

ONE YEAR!

This was taken at the zoo the day after her birthday...she was SUPER excited about the carousel