To my daughter, Ellie, on her first birthday-

It doesn’t seem possible that it has been a whole year since you were born and yet it has … and what a year! You have definitely changed our lives and we wouldn’t have it any other way. You bring us more joy than we ever could have imagined.

You are such a sweet little girl … you give big, enthusiastic, slobbery open-mouthed kisses to me and to daddy… even to the dogs. When people around you laugh, so do you. You have a few different laughs but your giggle is the best. I often toss you up in the air and exclaim “baby!” because it makes you giggle. When you laugh or smile really big, your six teeth make an appearance. The four on top are at different points growing in so they look pretty funny. You also have a seventh coming in on top, but not where it’s visible. I only know because I stuck my finger in your mouth … which you barely tolerate and then you insist on sticking your finger in my mouth too.

You have a lot to say these days, but unfortunately me and your daddy don’t understand you most of the time. You’re very good at long, loud exclamations and you also say “yeah” a lot. Your daddy and I have fun asking you random things just to hear you say “yeah” in response. We think you have also said the words “mama,” “daddy,” “yay,” “wow,” “baby” and “bottle” but we may also be hearing things. Nonetheless, each day we try to teach you new words and phrases. Right now we’re really hoping you can learn the concept of “let go” because when you get a death grip on daddy’s beard or my hair, it really really hurts.

You haven’t quite learned to walk yet but you’re getting closer each day. You love to pull up to standing while grasping my hands or your daddy’s hands. But most of the time you are content to crawl (and you’ve gotten super fast) and ‘stand’ on your knees. You even walk on your knees which is pretty impressive actually. You are fascinated by the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the dryer and of course all cabinets and drawers. I’m pretty sure your favorite activity is removing items from where they belong. In the bathroom, you pull everything out of the bottom drawer, systematically chewing on each thing and then setting it aside. In the kitchen, you empty the contents of your diaper bag. In your room, you pull the books off the shelf. In the playroom, you remove all the DVDs you can reach from their rightful places. Honestly, you’re like a tiny tornado. A really cute one, of course.

You’ve become a bit of a picky eater and we are really hoping it’s temporary. You used to eat just about anything we put on your spoon! But now that you’re on mostly finger foods, you definitely voice your opinion about what you want and what you don’t. Ironically, you still love your liver. And you like just about any fruit we put in front of you, especially pears and banana. You also seem to still enjoy avocado and cooked carrots. And, of course, puffs and cheerios. But I can’t seem to get you to eat eggs or zucchini or potato. Our goal is to get you to eat basically whatever we’re eating within the next six months so we will persevere.

Most of the time, I just feel extremely blessed to be your mom. I love taking you for walks or jogs in the stroller, taking you shopping with me while you ride in the cart, giving you a bath, dressing you in adorable outfits and taking way too many photos and videos of you. I love that you are good with babysitters and in the church nursery. I love that you go down easily for naps and at night and you very rarely wake up crying. I love that your hair is starting to curl in the back and I can’t wait until it’s long enough for me to put it in pigtails.

It’s been a wonderful first year, Elisabeth Rose, and I am excited about what the years to come will bring.

Love you so much,
Mommy