One year old!

I can't believe that one short year ago I was holding this:

Now, a year later, I have a big baby girl.  Ok, we're still trying to break 17 lbs, but definitely bigger, older, and wiser.

Actually, now that I'm finally getting around to posting this, she is almost 13 months but I have plenty of excuses for my lack of posting which I will explain in another post.

We celebrated with a little party at the park where I finally got to make these streamers and these cupcakes and these toppers.  I'm in love with all three.  Especially the chocolate buttercream.  It is by far the best chocolate frosting I have EVER had.  You should make them for your next girly party too.

These are my versions.  Unfortunately I was horrible at taking pictures during the party, so these are after shots. 

I'm a big fan of simple so we went with salad, pizza and grapes for dinner (my sweet family helped) and finished up with some cupcakes and a couple of presents.

We don't usually let her have tons of sweets, but it was her birthday after all.   Even at the young age of one, a birthday just isn't a birthday without a chocolate frosted cupcake.  

This is how she normally approaches food.  Careful and neat. 

One thing led to another and we eventually we got this...

and then this....

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

She got a doll from Rob and I and then some cute clothes, books, and pool toys from our guests.  

  

All in all it was fun and simple.  Just how I like it.

Some things I never want to forget about her:

It's somewhat of a tradition to bring Sophie into our room when she wakes up in the morning and attempt a few extra minutes of shut-eye.  The best part is when she can't decide who to lay closest to, so she switches off between Rob and I by pressing her cheek up against mine and letting out a big sigh and then repeating this on Rob's cheek.  She'll do this for 5+ minutes and I love it.

I made a little lamb pillow for Sophie at Easter and she loves to lay it in the middle of our living room floor and periodically rest her head on the soft fleece throughout the day.

If we are eating anything, you can guarantee that she is crawling rocket speed towards us to beg for it.  

She takes the most ginormous bites of food....sometimes they take minutes for her to chew it to swallowing size.

Sophie loves to drink out of regular cups and glasses.  Even when there is no water in them she will lift them up and take 'sips' of nothing.  The best part is that she still makes slurping and swallowing noises when she pretends to drink.

When she wants something she'll hold her arm out with her wrist bent so her hand is open and down.  This usually means 'come here' or 'give me the food you are eating'.  If you don't get the hint fast enough, she switch to pointing at it until you do.

If I forget to put the gate up on the stairs, she'll wait until I'm not looking and then book it as fast as she can towards the stairs (giggling the entire way, like she knows she's breaking the rules).  Or if the gate is already up, she try's to sneak under it, which usually results in a crying baby because her head is stuck.

I will always love her toothless grin with just two bottom teeth sticking out.  We're still not sure if it's a smile or grimace, but it is really funny.  She is finally getting a top tooth.  (Having a tiny, toothless baby makes it hard to convince strangers that she really is one).

She is getting so good at walking.  She gets sooo excited that she usually leaps towards Rob or I at the end but we're almost all the way to independence.  To me, this is a miracle considering all she's been through in the last few months.  When she got her cast off they told us not to encourage her to walk at all and that she probably wouldn't be ready for a few months...but she's a tough girl and  after a few weeks of re-learning to do everything with a healed leg, she was ready for action.

She is still the happiest baby alive.  She's been really sick the last month with one infection after another, hives almost every day, upset stomachs, low appetite, several visits to the doctor (most of which resulted in blood work and tests) but she is still always smiling and giggling.  I can't get enough of her laugh.

She wants to kiss everything.  Which is great especially when she plants one right on your mouth.  She hasn't learned to shut her mouth for a kiss yet (not sure why...) so it's always really slobbery too.  She especially likes to kiss Jesus in her "Jesus visits the Nephites" board book and her "bebe" doll. 

The girl LOVES her dad.  If there is ever a choice between mom or dad, it's usually dad.  She especially loves to cuddle with him, share his popcorn, and play hide-and-seek or chase with him.  She thinks it's hilarious when he chases her around.

Words:  Dad (usually dadad), mama, wha (what?), na (no), bebe (baby), hi

Recently, she was caught doing this when I ran into the other room to grab a dirty glass to put in the dishwasher.  

She will attempt to climb anything (including us) to get what she wants.  At the time, it was her pacifier in the top basket of the dishwasher.

Mission accomplished.  Lesson learned.

Sorry about the blur.  She's quick.

Cell Phones, Keys, and Remote Controlls

I'm the first to admit that Sophie crawls around in the grass and dirt, has put rocks and newspaper in her mouth, has eaten cheerios off of the floor at church, and even (once) licked dust from her fingers that she got from our book shelves (we've since rectified that problem).  I mean seriously people, she has already broken her leg for heaven's sake (before her first birthday, might I add).  I'm obviously not a perfect parent. I don't even claim to be a very good one (although I do try).  BUT, there are certain things I won't let her do.  So, Don't be hurt/offended when I hand you back your car keys or cell phone after you've kindly given them to her to play with.  Even if you "don't mind" her playing with them, I do.  

Here's why:

Clears throat, steps onto soapbox.

Case #1:  I have been a long time believer in making a distinction between toys and non-toys for my babies.  I don't let Sophie play with our cell phones, keys, or remote controls (just to name the big ones) and I don't want her to get confused when others let her play with theirs.  It sends mixed messages and I like to keep things consistent.  Plus, I don't want to be the "bad guy" that doesn't let her when everyone else does.  I'm already the "bad guy" in most other situations.  

Case #2:  If your child has ever had a public meltdown, you can relate to this next one.  When she was younger, I didn't care as much and let her play with my keys and cell phone to keep her from being upset in the grocery store or running errands.  It works out great until you need the keys to get in the car or until someone calls you on your cell phone.  That's when all heck breaks loose and you are left with a screaming child in the middle of the produce section of the grocery store.  Evil eye's and bad mommy stares ensue from all those witnessing the event and you soon become the parent with the spoiled screaming child.  Not fun.    

Case #3:  Cell phones are sooooo dirty.  I don't care who you are.  No one I know cleans their cell phone as much as they clean their toilet.  AND we all know the first thing a baby does when they pick anything up is put it straight in their mouths.  She may have built up immunities to some of my germs, but probably not yours, so please....don't share.  Here's an interesting article if you don't believe me.  Remotes and keys are no exception.  They never get cleaned and are always being used by dirty hands.

Case #4:   I can't tell you how many times someone has said to me, "But she WANTS it!" referring to keys, cell phones, remote controls (this may have been Rob, but I didn't tell you that).  Ummmm...ok???  She also wants to play with the knives on our kitchen counter, touch our hot stove, and plummet down the stairs face first.  We don't let her do those things either.  Kids want all kinds of things they shouldn't have.  It doesn't mean we need to let them have it.

***If you don't care about my reasons above (because they sound ridiculous), at least care about this next one:

Case #5:  A common rebuttal when I ask people not to let Sophie play with these things is, "It's not going to kill her."  Well, if you don't believe in bacteria/bad germs, than maybe you will believe in this;  TV remotes, remote car keys, and many other non-toys have small button bateries inside that look like this:

*source

It may look pretty harmless, but can actually be fatal if swallowed.  A really good friend of mine recently had a very personal experience with this.  Her son was playing with a tv remote, got ahold of the battery inside and swallowed it.  The chemical burns that resulted from this almost killed him.  Here's the story if you want to know more.  

Steps off of soap box.

So yeah, it's important to me.   I've had a million people roll their eyes and tell me, 'just wait till you have more kids, you won't care as much then'.  I'm hoping that by developing these habits early that I will be able to continue them when I'm more tired and more stressed with more kids.  A girl can try, right?  Sure, there are things I said I wouldn't do that I've relaxed on; like not letting her have sweets, white flour, high fructose corn syrup (she's had a gold fish or two), or drink juice (2 days of the flu and no caloric intake made me rethink the juice).  Thats just to name a few, but I promise you this one is different.  

I love this little girl.  I'd be heartbroken if anything ever happened to her.  Blueberry/avocado grouch face and all.