Luke, Patty, Anna Kate, Caroline, and Eleanor

Luke, Patty, Anna Kate, Caroline, and Eleanor

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Happy 1st Birthday, Caroline!

Sweet Caroline Hope,

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!  Is it your first birthday already?  Oh how this year has flown by.  I remember the day of your birth like it was yesterday.  The night before you were born I still wasn't sure that you were going to be here any time soon, but your daddy and grandpa finally convinced me to go to the hospital.  We got one good night's sleep there (the last we've had since, ha!), but then you were ready to arrive bright and early the next morning.  I remember holding you for the first time and marveling at how I felt like my heart could just overflow with love.  And today, just as on that day, I can say with the Psalmist, "My cup runneth over."  You are such a blessing and we are so grateful that God chose us to be your mommy and daddy.  Watching you grow is such a joy!  And here is what our busy one-year-old has been up to lately!

~ You love reading stories - at home, at library storytime, in the nursery at church, wherever!  You love to go up to the bookshelves and pull off a whole pile of books and then sit and look at them.  You will sit and turn pages and "read" the books out loud in your little baby language.
~ Speaking of books, you also like to eat them.  Especially board books.  In fact, The Very Hungry Caterpillar has a hole in the spine from you chewing through it - Ironic!
~ You have become a bit territorial this month...especially with your mommy.  Everyone always warned us that Anna Kate might have some jealousy when a baby arrived on the scene, but it's actually you that won't share your mommy with her!  You do NOT like it if she comes and hugs me while you are trying to hug me.  We are working on that!
~ Although you do get annoyed with her on occasion, you really do think that your big sister is just about the greatest thing ever.  You love watching the silly things she does and she is always very sweet to you.  You love it when she gives you hugs and kisses or plays with toys with you.
~ You are getting very close to walking.  You took what might have been your first steps after your birthday party on Saturday.  It was just three or four, and you fell forward into my arms after them, but they were pretty good!  You have taken a couple steps here and there since then, but you have yet to really take off.
~ You now have a wonderfully easy bedtime routine.  We get all ready for bed and then sit in the rocking chair and read Goodnight Moon.  Then we turn off the lights and Daddy prays for you and your sister.  Then you nurse for 10-15 minutes and I lay you right down in the bed awake.  And then you drift right off to sleep!  I would love to say that you then sleep all night long, but no, you still wake up 3-4 times to nurse.  But only for 5-10 minutes each time.
~ You love to clap your hands and cheer for anything exciting.  In fact, we went to a high school volleyball game tonight and you clapped and cheered right along with the rest of the crowd!
~ You now eat just about all the same foods that we eat.  Well, you and Mommy still don't eat any milk, eggs, or peanuts, but other than that, you eat just about everything.  Frozen peas are still your favorite though!  And while you won't refuse many foods, you are funny with your preferences.  Like the other day, you acted like I was feeding you dirt when I gave you cut-up grapes (and actually, you probably like dirt better, now that I think about it), but I couldn't keep the spoonfulls of curried hummus coming fast enough! 
~ You have been playing peek-a-boo for a while now, but this month you have started to initiate it on your own.  You will hide behind a door or a chair or a toy and then pop out with a big smile over and over again.  You just crack yourself up!
~ You now say five words.  The first four are pretty normal - Mama, Dada, No No, Nana (banana) - but the last one is pretty funny.  You very clearly say "This" for everything that is not one of those four other words you know how to say.  You point at things and say "this".  You sometimes even say it as if it were a question.  "This?"  As in, "Can I have this, Mommy?"
~ You have become very fast at climbing stairs.  And very mischievous while you do it.  You know you are not supposed to climb the stairs, but sometimes I will catch you about to start and as soon as you see me you start racing up them as fast as you can go - while laughing hysterically. 
~  Now, except for the stair issue, you are really starting to obey Mommy and Daddy when we tell you that something is a no-no.  You are extremely dramatic about it, but if we tell you to stop touching something you will slowly pull your hand away, stick out your lower lip, start a long drawn-out cry, and sit down.  It's almost as if there is a real internal struggle going on as you decide whether or not to obey!
~ You have really been enjoying the park this month.  We've had some beautiful cool weather, so we have been going more often and you love to climb up the stairs and slide down the baby slide, almost all by yourself.  I still keep my hands pretty close, but you're getting pretty independent!
~ Your favorite toys lately are baby dolls (you LOVE the new one you got for your birthday today!), purses, and the kitchen set.
~ You also love to pretend that just about any object is either a phone or a hat.  You think it's pretty funny to put things on your head that don't belong there!
~ Daddy taught you how to click your tongue last week and it's your favorite new trick.  You start doing it multiple times a day, and you love it if we join in with you!
~ Speaking of sounds, you now know the doggy sound!  It's pretty cute to hear you say "Woo Woo Woo!"
~ I know I already wrote about this in your birthday party post, but you LOVED your first birthday cake on Saturday.  You had your own miniature chocolate cake (about the size of 4-5 cupcakes) and you probably would have eaten the entire thing if we would have let you! 
~ You have just decided recently that you are not a big fan of car rides.  Short little trips like to church or the store are fine, but anything longer than 10-15 minutes and you get extremely annoyed.  We're not sure this bodes well for our drive to Virginia for Thanksgiving!  Uncle Andrew is riding with us though, so maybe we'll just stick him in the back with you to keep you entertained!
~ One of your favorite things to do is to roll and bounce around on Mommy and Daddy's bed.  Sometimes we will wrestle and tickle you and you just think it is hilarious!  You also love to roll and wriggle away when we are changing your diaper.  Not nearly as funny to us as it is to you...
~ I've probably written about this before in my other monthly posts, but you are quite a dramatic little child.  Your highs are very high (you have the most wonderful smile and giggle!), but you sure know how to flip it around at a moment's notice!  You usually do this if Mommy (or even sometimes Daddy) leaves the room, or if we take something from you that you're not supposed to have.  You are definitely a girl who knows what she wants!
~ We still call you by one of your nicknames more often than not.  The most common ones are "Caresy Hope" and "Liney Bear".  We'll see how long you'll let us keep that up!

Caroline Hope, you are a joy.  We love watching your little personality develop and wonder at what the Lord will do in and through you one day.  I will close with the Scripture that your Daddy prays over you every night before you go to bed.

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you;
The Lord lift up his face upon you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26

Happy first birthday, Caroline Hope!

Here are your pictures!

One month


Two months


Three months


Four months


Five months


Six months


Seven months


Eight months


Nine months


Ten months


Eleven months


One year old!


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