**I had this written before her 1st Birthday on 11/29/13, but didn't get around to posting it until now.**
Dear Kate,
I just
cannot believe that you’re already 1 year old!
It simply amazes me how fast time flies.
I really try my hardest to cherish every moment I have with you because
I know they’re passing so quickly. I
also cannot begin to tell you how much joy and happiness you’ve brought to our
family. It’s amazing how God allowed our
ability to love to grow exponentially when you joined our family. Not only are you a blessing to daddy and I,
but Ian also adores you!
You have
continued to grow so much, in every way, since the last letter I wrote. Size-wise-, you are now 19 lbs 1 oz. (17%) and 28 1/4 inches
long (23%). You’re wearing 9 month clothes,
but are about to move to 12 months…in PJs, at least. You are finally able to wear some of the little
size 3 shoes. You’re just so petite! I
honestly don’t know where that came from!
I love dressing you in cute dresses, hair bows, and leg warmers (with
ruffles :).
Your straight, dark-blonde hair is getting longer, so I can finally clip
a little bow in now. You have bright
blue eyes, and daddy and I CONSTANTLY have people tell us what a beautiful baby
you are! (We agree! :)
You’ve been
crawling for a while now, and sometimes, pulled up on your knees. In the last 2 weeks, you’ve started standing up next to the couch, fireplace,
bathtub, activity toy, etc. It’s so cute
because you give us the BIGGEST smile when you stand! You’re so proud of yourself, and we are
too! You love to crawl around with a
“baby” (i.e. baby doll or stuffed animal).
You give us a huge grin when we show you one of your babies. You
love playing in the bath with Ian, and like throwing toys on the floor with a
smile. It’s cute for now, but at Ian’s
age, it’s not cute any longer. :)
You’re vocab
is expanding, as well! If you pick up a
ball, you will say, “ball,” and when you leave, you’ll wave your hand and say,
“bye-bye.” We’ve also thought that
you’ve said “hi,” but it’s less obvious.
When we sing “Patty Cake,” you start clapping your hands. You’ve started standing your ground with
Ian. If he takes a toy that you’re
playing with, you squeal and try to get it back. You love playing with Ian though. When you see him, you get a huge grin on your
face.
You started
sleeping through the night in mid-October (10 & ½ months). Mommy had been nursing you 1-2 times per
night, but you really didn’t need it given your good appetite. We had to give in and let you “cry it out”
for a few nights. It worked! Ever since then, you sleep from about 8:45pm
to 8:45am, with a feeding about 5:30-6:30am.
During the day, you take 1-2 naps: morning and afternoon. You do pretty good at putting yourself
asleep, as long as you have your paci, blankie, and a “baby” in the crib.
You have a
great appetite and will pretty much eat anything! We don’t think you even chew/gum the food
because it goes down so fast! You really
like any type of fruit, especially bananas, Gerber raviolis, graham crackers,
and oatmeal or rice cereal. You also
like avocados, mixed veggies, and beans.
You’re getting better at drinking through a sippy cup. At your daycare, you recently had a taste of
cow’s milk and apparently did fine!
Lori
Chrisman is your babysitter. She watches
you and Ian on Wednesday mornings during daddy’s meeting, and Thursdays and
Fridays from 10:30am-5:00pm. You love
Miss Lori, and she loves you!! All of
the kids think you’re pretty darn cute, as well! On Tuesday
nights, mommy and daddy trade off date nights with Jim and Jessica
Lucas. You love to go over to their
house and play with baby Neely, who is just 10 days older than you. You girls are so cute together! She gets called “Nee Nee Bees” and we call
you “Katybug.” For Halloween, she was a
bee and you were a ladybug….so adorable!!
This year,
your first birthday is on a Friday…Black Friday , to be exact. You were born a week after Thanksgiving last
year, but your birthday is the day after Thanksgiving this year. We’re celebrating with Nanny, Papa, and
Daddy’s side of the family at the lake Texoma cabins. We had your “official” birthday party on
12/3/13 in Enid. We had the party early
because lots of family members were in town for mommy’s cousin, Jill’s,
wedding. The theme was “Ladybugs” since
we call you “Katybug.” You were quite
the adorable little lady! You wore black
and white polka dots with a red tutu.
You LOVED your first taste of cake and ended up covered in black and red
frosting. You received several nice
gifts, including a new activity walker, a personalized chair, a Minnie Mouse
kitchen, a nursery, a lantern toy, a ZooPal certificate, a Care Bear, clothes, Minnie
Mouse doll, and money for your college fund.
Several friends and family came to help you celebrate!
Katybug, we
love you so incredibly much. This year
just FLEW by! Daddy and I continue to
pray that you’ll be happy and healthy for years to come. You bring us so much joy.
Happy 1st
Birthday, sweetheart!
Love, Mommy
and Daddy
