Sunday, June 3, 2012

12 Months Old! That means 1 year, y'all!

Dear Haven,

1 year.  12 months.  365 days (plus a few b/c I am late writing this!).  Whichever way you choose to look at it, it has been pure bliss and the most meaningful year of my life.  Your little tiny self has done so much for me this year... you have reaffirmed the feeling that I was always meant to be a mom.  You have made me smile until my face hurts on a daily basis.  You have literally made me cry with something as simple as sweet moments of eye contact... both when you were so tiny and we were forming our bond, and as recent as last week while playing in your room and you looked at me like "you know I love you so much right Mom?"  I could cry just thinking about it again.  You have made me appreciate and understand my mom and all the other wonderful women in my life more than I could have ever imagined.  You have proved to me that I can survive on less than 8 hours of sleep.  You have made me fall in love with your Daddy all over again as I watch him with you.  You have forced me to be ok with having something yucky on my shirt at all times.  You have changed my priorities.  You have blessed my life beyond belief.  Happy Birthday to the most beautiful, sweet, hilarious, precious, expressive, smiley, snuggly, happiest baby girl ever.  Thank you God for trusting me with your good and perfect gift in our precious daughter Haven Jane! 

Ok, get it together Brittany.  Let's hit some of this month's highlights.  At your 1 year appointment, you were 18 lbs 9 oz and 28.5 in long.  You are tiny.  But I love it!  Can you imagine if you were some massive chunk sitting on your 5'1" mom's hip?  Ok, you'd still be cute as ever, but my muscles thank you!  Ha!  You love table food now and are losing interest in baby food.  You would much rather have something you can pick up and put in your mouth than be spoon-fed.  We are done nursing (tear!).  Over the course of this month, you actually kinda weaned yourself.  May was so busy for me with work so you spent more time with Grandma and Daddy which meant more bottles and less me.  You started getting frustrated when wanting to eat RIGHT THEN and it would take a second to come in so you'd give up and we'd give you a bottle.  The last half of the month I could tell you were getting less and less from me.  We got down to 1 feeding a day for about a week and then the last time I fed you was on your birthday.  So special and I will cherish it forever.  We will be starting real milk soon after we finish up the rest of the formula (that stuff's expensive!) and I'm anxious to see how you do with that!  Your whole fruit-aversion is gone.  You LOVE strawberries, bananas, and grapes like your mom.  You are wearing 12 months clothes and probably will be for a while.  I have an unhealthy relationship with your section at Target and have to stay away so I don't blow a ton of money there.  You are sleeping through the night for the most part, but still wake once a night every so often.  If you have a tooth coming in, watch out!  You are a crazy screaming girl at night.  Thank goodness it doesn't affect you during the day though.  You are EVERYWHERE.  You crawl so fast!  If you know we are coming for you, you crawl SO fast in the opposite direction.  You are pulling up on everything and cruising around the furniture.  You would literally spend all day walking around the house while holding my fingers if I'd let you.  You love that.  You just need to get a little more brave and you will be walking on your own!  You say "da-da" all. the. time.  You say it correctly when Dad's around, and all day long when he's not here.  Maybe you miss him. :)  You say "ma-ma" but not nearly as often.  You say the most adorable "hi!" when either of us comes home, when you see Gammie & Bozzy on Skype, or when you meet new people.  You love to wave.  You still love bath time and pool time... you are so happy in the water.  You love being outside.  You definitely get that from your Daddy b/c I don't care for it much.  In the last week, you have started throwing a little fit when you want to go outside and I don't take you out there.  You throw your head back and arch your back and cry.  It's very dramatic.  We've gotta figure out how to nip that in the bud!  Ha!  You love music and dancing which I am thrilled about.  But I'm not surprised as you have been going to Tippi Toes or pom practice your whole life!  I laugh that whenever you see large groups of people, they are probably dancing.  You are so snuggly and give me the biggest hugs when you wake up, when I come home and someone else has been watching you, etc.  I love them and do my best to stop and enjoy the moment for as long as it lasts.  You are so silly too.  You love making funny noises and mimicing sounds we make.  You have the best laugh ever.  It's precious.  I will act like an idiot to get it out of you, although sometimes it can be something so small that you laugh at.  I love it.  And I love you.  Thank you for injecting so much joy into our lives the past year.  We were happy before, but it's hard to imagine life before you came along.  You make it richer, happier, and more meaningful.  We love you so much Haven Jane and always know that we will do anything for you, we are proud of you, and we will love you more and more every day of your life!  Happy 1st Birthday!   









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