3.8.14
Dearest Delaney,Congratulations to YOU! Congratulations to US! We ALL made it to your first birthday!!
Physically, what stands out about you, the most, at one year are your stunning blue eyes. They are so unique to our immediate family and I find myself just staring at them in awe. Your Papa, Uncle Clint and my maternal grandma, Mema, were all blessed with these amazing blue eyes. Your curls are already standing out as well, especially as we enter Spring and Summer and the humidity is returning to south central Texas. Both your hair and skin are relatively light however I remember both of these features of Addie's starting out the same way too before darkening a couple of years later. At 12-13 months, you look so tiny as you walk everywhere and so much like a little baby to me.
Personality wise, you are just as... if not more unique and I can't wait to see you grow, develop and evolve into a young child, adolescent and eventually, an adult. Thus far, your ENTIRE first year, you have not been the easy, go with the flow, people-person a typical "third-born" child is described as. You would and will not go to hardly any one or even make eye contact with anyone besides your daddy and me. By your first birthday, most family and friends still have never held you since you were 3 months old. We can confidently say this behavior was/is not a phase and just happens to be part of your wired personality. You really don't care for ANY toys, big or small, you insist on being held by your da-da or myself. Needless to say, we encouraged you to learn to walk, hoping there would be some independence associated with achieving this milestone. The only other thing that gets your attention is your beloved "Tiger," our new Boxer puppy, that we got when you were just ten months old. You adore that puppy and love to walk right up to her with your mouth wide open begging her to give you huge puppy kisses. She is so incredibly patient with you and you guys definitely have a strong bond, already.
Milestones - Since turning a year, one of my favorite things has been your talking and how you try so hard to repeat words. Your first words before turning 1 were mainly "da", "stop," "uh-o" and a very clear "Tiger." At one, you suddenly started saying, "diaper," "thank you," "ya ya," and "ah da " and you constantly are doing the sign language signal for "more," along with grunting when you want something! It is fun asking you to repeat words when you are in the mood. You are an excellent sleeper sleeping 7AM - 7PM nearly every night. You smile at peek-a-boo and I absolutely love to play chase with you and chase you around while you look back at me with your cute, goofy little grin with your 7 teeth clearly showing!
As dependent as your were on your mommy and daddy your first year, I know we will always look back on this first year and remember fondly how attached you were to us. We can't wait to see the different chapters of your life unfold and the amazing little girl you are quickly becoming!
I love you so much,
Mommy
xoxo
