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!

Letter to my 11 month old

Dear Amelia,

Another month is gone, we are another month closer to your 1st birthday. I can't help but think of your birthday as the end of babyhood, so I have been soaking up every little bit I can during these last couple months. And the little bits of baby-ness are harder to find these days. You are so active and smart. You are constantly on the move, doing things on your own and trying new things. Each day you challenge me with something new you can get into, and surprise me with something new you have learned. This month:

• You gave up baby food. Completely. The pureed food out of a jar and tasteless cereal simply will no longer cut it. You like to feed yourself and will try just about anything. Some of your favorites these days are bananas, peas and carrots, avacados, peaches and vienna sausages (even though they gross me out. You can thank Grams for that one.)
• You run everywhere. Evidently walking was not fast enough for you. Although now you are a bit over confident in your running abilites and tend to fall more than you used to. You have had your fair share of bumps and bruises this month.
• You can say mama, dada, dog, bye-bye, what's that, duck, and your new word is Moooooo. That's what you say when we ask you what a cow says.
• You sleep from 8 pm to 6 am.
• You got another tooth. (bottom left, next to the centers). This makes a total of 5.
• You love to give hugs and kisses. To the dogs, to your toys, to your books, anything that needs a kiss. However you will not kiss on demand, it has to be your idea. But when you run over and give me a hug and kiss at the end of a long day, my heart melts every time.
• You went swimming for the first time. Temperatures have been crazy hot, so the kiddie pool was a perfect way to cool down.
• You love to read. You like to pick out a book from your big stack and bring it to me. You listen and watch me read, but you like to be the one to turn the pages.

The days of rocking to sleep and cuddling are getting fewer. The baby-ness is ending. You are an independent, spirited little girl and love to do things on your own. You are almost officially a toddler. So, for this last month of your first year, I am going to hold you tight, drop everything anytime you want to cuddle and savor every last day of your babyhood. All my love to you, my sweet sweet baby girl, my soon to be toddler.

Letter to my 10 month old

Dear Amelia,

Today you are 10 months old. You are the funniest, smartest, silliest, most independent 10 month old I have ever seen. You love to explore, dance, make us laugh and be the center of attention. Once again, you have amazed us all this month with the new things you have learned.

This month:

• You have become a pro at walking. Within just a couple of weeks you went from taking your first steps to full on running. You love to run circles around the living room and squeal with delight while we try to catch you.
• You love to climb and flip off things. I can't turn my back for a second without you trying to climb on top of something. I think gymnastics might be in our future.
• You FINALLY got your two top teeth! After months of them coming through and giving you trouble, they finally popped through. You are so cute with your four little teeth that show when you smile really wide.
• You still love to eat and are expanding your palate. You insist on trying whatever is on our plates, and continually surprise us with your choices. We have yet to find a food that you do not like. Right now you are transitioning from eating baby food at most meals to mostly finger foods.
• You say mama, dada, bye bye, dog, duck and what's that? "What's that" is currently your favorite thing to say and you must point at and identify every new object.
• You have started answering our questions with yes and no by shaking your head. When we say "Are you hungry?" You respond by shaking your head. Every night we settle down for the night and say, "Are you ready to go to bed?" You always shake your head yes and want us to carry you to your room.
• You sleep from about 8:00 pm - 6:30 am. You are currently sleeping on your elephant pillow and your favorite stuffed dog in the crook of your arm.
• You are once again sleeping through the night. Once those pesky teeth came through, you are sleeping through the night again with no problem. Yay!
• You experienced your first serious tornado on May 24 and it was one of the scariest days of my life. We prepared the bathtub with pillows and blankets, stocked the room with bottled water and your supplies, moved the dogs crates in and waited for the storm. Your daddy and I were scared as we watched the news, but you had a great time taking care of the dogs in the bathroom. Oklahoma experienced severe damage that day and lives were lost. That night we all hugged a little bit tighter and went to bed with grateful hearts.

This was such a fun month for me to share with you. Now that you are officially mobile we are always on the move. We have had a great time exploring every room in our house, all the streets of our neighborhood, and all the shops in our little town. I know there are lots of adventures in our future and I look forward to each one. You are such a precious gift and I love you with all of my heart, my sweet sweet baby girl.