Note To Reader: This post is about 4 months over due so as far as milestones go she's way further along now than she was at a year. Please forgive me for being so late with this post!
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I seriously can't believe it's been a year! It's amazing to me how much she's grown and changed in this first year. I mean a year ago she was less than 5 lbs and just under 17 inches long. She couldn't do anything for herself and the Hub and I were just learning how to do things for her. She took a bath in our kitchen sink, she was too little to go in the Baby Bejorn, She was swimming in premee sleep and plays, and she slept less that 10 feet from us.
Although sometimes I still sneak into her room to listen to her breath while she's sleeping, she has gotten so big. She's almost 19 lbs and well over 2 feet tall. She's wearing size 12 month in everything but swim suits. She takes baths in the big tub without any sort of baby seat. Although it's very messy, she can feed herself and she drinks from a cup. She's walking while holding onto things. She's generally a very happy baby, loves being social, and loves music and dancing. Her favorite time of the day is when Daddy comes home from work. She is still learning the importance of sharing but I'm confident she'll get it eventually.
She still has just a few words in her little vocabulary, but is starting to mimic sounds we make, like when the phone rings or someone walks into a room she says "ah oh". In the last week or so she has started to make kissing sounds and was a very quick study when learning to blow kisses.
Here are her official 1 year stats:
Weight: 17lbs and 3 ozs (3rd%)
Length: 28 inches (15th %)
Head circumference: 43 centimeters (4th%)
And finally her last set of Butterfly Pictures.
El Brand New
El 1 Month
El 2 Months
El 3 Months
El 4 Months
El 5 Months
***6 Month Picture MIA***
El 7 Months
El 8 Months
El 9 Months
El 10 Months
El 11 Months
El 12 Months
it's safe to say that she has officially grown too big for the butterfly blanket Oh and she was not in a smiling mood the day I took her pictures. She was cutting her first two molars, need I say more. There were a couple of good ones this month, but I chose this one because she was in the same position, with her knees drawn up, as she was in her first "brand new" picture. What a difference a year makes.
THE PARTY
The birthday celabrations started when her God Parents sent her a special birthday package that included som fancy new clothes and a fabulous lady bug book.
Her favorite parts though were the stuffed lady bug and the card
Mmmmmm!!! Tasty!!!
There were also a few special treats from her Granny that she got a little early so she could wear the outfit on her big day.
For the actual day we invited our good friends Megan and Nathan to spend the weekend with us at my Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Jack's home on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
The birthday girl and her daddy
Our little family
Practicing for blowing out the candles
"Mommy did you see all the presents behind me? Are they all for me!?"
The Birthday spread: Burgers with all the dixings and lots of extras
Me and my sweet girl!
She LOVED her birthday cake!
Getting ready to take a birthday boat ride with Megan and Nathan.
She was not a fan of the life jacket, but finally tolerated it.
We had so much fun sharing this big day with friends and family. It's amazing how much we love this little lady and it's so wonderful for us to see how much others love her too. She is a special little girl and we are so lucky and blessed to be her parents.
Till next time,
Bon Voyage!
and below is a picture of this year’s Birthday cake! Mmmmmm! So delicious!
We received a package from her for my birthday that contained… 24 cans of chicken noodle soup. 
I don’t even know where to start with this story, so I think I will just post the pictures and leave the rest to your imagination. However, I will leave you with these thoughts before I move on. 
One, in college, I existed almost completely on chicken noodle soup and crackers, because that was all I could afford, but now I can barely stand the smell of it cooking in the microwave. (It must be said, in her defense, that I don’t think she knew this little fact… she reads my blog, so… she does now.) Two, I turned 29… not 24!? Three, do you know how heavy 24 cans of chicken noodle soup weighs and how much it must have cost to ship it?! Okay, I could go on, but… no… I’ll leave it at that and leave you with these pictures. 
Kitty Sticks and I are still counting cans. I’d love to know your thoughts… Please!
