Letter to my 12 month old

My dear Amelia,

My sweet baby girl...my one year old. I have spent every day of the past month soaking in every little thing that I could, and holding tight to a year's worth of baby memories. I have been very sentimental this month, often thinking of, and fondly remembering the day you were born. It was simply my best day. I loved everything about it; the excitement, the nervousness, the pain, the fear, the love, the moment of becoming a mother. The past year has been my greatest joy. I just do not have the words to properly describe how much I love you and how proud you have made me. I'm pretty sure that words do not exist, and only another mother could possibly know how I feel.

Once again, you have continued to amaze us all with how much you have learned and changed in one short month. This month:

• You learned to sign "more" and "all done". I know you have known what both meant for some time, but you have recently started signing back to me when you would like more or are finished eating.
• You learned to high five. You only like to do it when it is your idea, but when you are really proud of yourself, you give us a big high five and it is adorable.
• You can point out nose, ears and belly.
• You say mama, dada, bye-bye, hi, what's that, duck, dog and mooo.
• You sleep from 8 - 8:30 pm to 6 - 6:30 am.
• You watch everything I do and imitate my actions. You love to pretend cook, pretend paint, carry a purse around, brush your hair and hold the phone up to your ear.
• You love to dance.
• You cut another tooth. The tooth next to your top right center came in at the end of the month, making a total of 6.
• You have been extremely affectionate, giving lots of really tight hugs and slobbery kisses. When I tell you I love you, you nod your head yes.
• You love to be a helper. You are constantly picking things up from around the house and bringing them to me.
• You learned how to turn backwards and get down from the couch by yourself. We spend lots of time getting up on the couch and then getting back down.
• You still love to eat and usually eat what we are eating. You still have 2 or 3 bottles a day but are pretty much weaning yourself off those.

You have given us twelve full months of fun and laughs and sleepless nights and tears and milestones and more love than we could have ever imagined. I have adored every single second since the moment that you were born. I will always, always look back on your first year as one of the best times in my life. I am so excited to see what the next year brings. All my love to you, my sweet baby girl.

Happy Birthday Amelia Gayle!