Ayla's Very 1st Birthday

Well it happened!  Somehow this baby is already a year old!  I cannot even believe how fast it has gone. I tried to savor the year because I know how fast it goes but it still went too fast!  

This little love went from just under 8 lbs at birth to 19.5 lbs at 1 year.  To make it even more special she started walking just about right on her birthday!  That and her growing desire to talk really made it feel like she changed from a baby to a toddler overnight. She is completely obsessed with our elf on the shelf Henry and loves finding him every morning and pointing to show us.  She says Mama, Dada, num num, thank you, and in general just tries to mimic.  I'm sure she will non stop talk here soon!  

Her personality is so fun! She definitely seems like an extrovert and loves people which is very surprising coming from two introvert parents and the fact that she's spent most of this first year in quarantine with her family. But she loves to flirt and smile and entertain! She looks around the room to make sure everyone is looking and then cheers and applauds and shows off!  I also find her to be very inquisitive. She loves to observe and pays close attention to things to see how they work.  She's very smart but I am her mom so of course I think so ;) 

She loves to eat and some of her favorites are toast, corn, peas, pears, pasta. She does not like eggs so far and has no problem chucking food she does not like. Peter has been known to comfort her when she's angry with her favorite treats - kit kats and chocolate chips.   I am so pleased to say that we made it an entire 12 months with nursing! I have never been able to reach that milestone before and even with some rough patches we made it!  She has mostly transitioned to milk and we are working on getting rid of bottles.  She's down to pretty much just naptime and nighttime.   I can't believe she has 4 teeth already as our other bio kids didn't get any teeth until they were past a year old.  She has also surprised us by keeping her blue eyes!  In a family of hazel and brown eyes that has been quite the surprise! 

She has just been a delight in every single way and has brought so much joy to our family. It has been so fun to watch each of her big siblings and the special love and care they show to her as the baby and to see how much she loves and adores them right back! 

Our state was locking back down right around her birthday but we still celebrated with close family.  We may not have had a big party but that didn't stop us from celebrating her big, after all we kind of think first birthday's are a big deal and worth celebrating!  And she soaked up every sweet second of being the center of attention. She looked around at each and every person to make sure they were watching her and shared lots of big grins! 

We knew she would definitely not disappoint us in the cake eating portion of the party! She loves food and isn't shy about it!

For her actual birthday we were out of state (more on that soon) and didn't have any major plans, beyond making her feel special in little ways. Daddy started the day out right by getting her a giant cinnamon roll and we sang the Birthday Song repeatedly throughout the day to make her smile!

Simple new toys, but it definitely showed off her inquisitive nature!

 

We got her pasta for dinner because that is a favorite and then she LOVES ice cream so we knew an ice cream cake would be a big hit!

Oh Baby Girl, you have brought so much joy into our lives.  I count my blessings daily that you are in my life as I kiss your sweet cheeks. You were definitely a missing piece in our family and we have been delighted by every second of your being! You are so fun and make us smile 100 times a day! Even though you are #5 we still enjoy every milestone as if you were the very first! I cannot wait to see all you learn in this next year, as you talk more, learn to run, and play in all sorts of new ways.  Even though you were born during one of the toughest years ever, you've kept the joy flowing in our home.  You are just the sweetest little thing and you came at the perfect time to spread joy through difficult days just by being little you! Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Ayla, we love you so!