Happy Birthday Laurel!

One year ago today...

... a lot changes in 1 year!

Laurel is have a ONEderful birthday! I am still in shock that she is already 1, I don't know how the past year flew by so fast. She is changing so much every day it seems and is turning into such a big girl! It is hard to believe that she isn't really a baby anymore. I mean seriously, when did this happen?

Her birthday started with me, David, and Micah going into her room and singing happy birthday to her. She thought this was hilarious and was bouncing and clapping by the end! She then enjoyed pink pancakes which were a big hit. Her big brother enjoyed them too, although he really wanted green pancakes and not pink.

Next up on her birthday agenda, going to visit Dr. T. Her check up is scheduled for next week but she started tugging in her ear last night so I was worried that her ear infection was still sticking around. Dr. T was so happy to see her on her birthday and gave us the happy report that her ears (for the first time in over a month) look great! Yay!

Then, we had swim lessons. I know, that is so mean to make her to go swim lessons on her birthday. Especially since she just screams the whole time (a post on that coming soon). Nonetheless, Miss Glendy was very excited to help her celebrate her birthday!

They both did so great at swim lessons so I took her and Micah to chick-fil-a for lunch. She at all of one nugget because she still doesn't have very many teeth and struggles with table food.

She took an awesome afternoon nap and then her boyfriend, Ashton, came over to play in the backyard while their big brothers splashed in the lagoon.

I think it is safe to say she had a fun filled birthday!

I know I already said this but I really feel like Laurel is changing more and more every day. She has taken 2 steps but is still yet to full on walk. She is so sturdy and balanced and will stand for long periods of time but she doesn't like to try to walk unless she has something to hold on to. This doesn't stop her, though, it seems like her crawling gets faster everyday. She can get from one side of the house to the other in what seems like a few seconds.

What a smart little girl we have on our hands! Her communication skills are growing so quickly right now. I was working on sign language with her but as I'd sign "more" and say "more" she would look at me long and hard and then say just as slowly as I had "mooooore". So, I think we aren't going to mess with the sign language. She mostly babbles right now but she tries to repeat almost anything we say. I can't wait to see what she starts calling Micah. She is also still a big fan of clapping (for herself mostly) and waving.

Laurel is still a big time mama's girl! She gets very clingy to me when we are in large groups and is still having major separation anxiety anytime I hand her to someone else that she doesn't know well. When we walk in the door of church, she immediately starts crying. Poor Miss Glendy, everyday this week when we've seen her for lessons, if she comes within a foot of Laurel, she is grabbing me and screaming.

She is still a great sleeper and eater. She is taking 2 naps a day right now. She usually sleeps for about an hour in the morning if she gets to nap at home and then she sleeps for at least 3 hours in the afternoon. This is always so nice because she and Micah sleep for at least 2 hours most days at the same time. Mama needs that down time! We are working on transitioning her to table food but she is being much pickier than Micah was and she still only has 4 teeth. She inhaled 3 servings of butternut squash mac and cheese last night so she is a pasta girl like her mama. Our safe bets are still any kind of bread or pasta and mangoes.

A new development this past month and been the necessity and the hatred of the word "no". Laurel has started pushing the limits a little bit and we have started being more firm with telling her no. She doesn't like it at all. Half the time she bursts into tears and the other half she laughs and continues what she is doing. I am just really hoping that she isn't as strong-willed as Micah. She is also VERY dramatic, we commonly call her our diva. She has mastered the silent cry. You know, when the face turns bright red and they look like they are crying but really they're just gearing up for some serious wailing? She does this a lot.

Faves at 1 year: blankie, babies (dolls and apparently real ones too), mangoes, chasing around big brother, and bath time. One of my faves this month is that her hair is finally long enough for pig tails!

Dislikes: anything that requires her to sit still or lay on her back (diaper changes and getting dressed especially), being ignored, the word "no", and sippy cups (she is really fighting the transition from the bottle).

Her 1 year check up isn't until next week... I'll post her stats after that. I didn't want her to have to get shots on her birthday. I can't wait to see how much she has grown!

And because there is nothing cuter than Laurel in her birthday tutu...

Happy Birthday, baby girl!