My baby turns 1!

JanetHenry
Jun 29, 2020
3 min read

I can't believe I'm writing about my baby girl turning one! This last year has gone by so fast and has been so full...first few months full of learning how to be a family of 5 with a new baby, then the next few months busy running from school to soccer to practice while rocking fussy babies and packing diaper bags, then the last few months suddenly pumping the brakes, canceling everything and getting to watch our three littles just be together at a much slower pace.

This girl has added sweetness and sass and softness to this crazy boy world we had before her. She loves when people talk to her and has sought out social interactions from the very beginning. Our little social butterfly. She gets this cute bashful look when you talk sweet to her and she calls out if she feels ignored. This silly girl has started laughing on command to get attention and it's the funniest thing! She has the kind of hug that just melts your heart. I'm talking reach around your arm, snuggle her head in close, and squeeze...a feeling I pray I never forget. She loves to be held and has spent most of her first year getting all the snuggles. She's learning to blow kisses and give high-fives. Her brothers love her fiercely and she seeks out their attention, always wanting to play with them. I have really enjoyed watching their relationship grow this past year. She's grown so much and become her own little person in such a short time. I just can't imagine our family without her!

This first birthday for our baby girl is going to look so different than we anticipated a few months ago now that phrases like "safer at home" "social distancing" and "quarantine" are in our everyday vocabulary. Like many with a birthday in the last couple months, we have no party planned...but that's not going to stop this mama from decorating and taking cute pictures of my baby because I just love that kind of stuff! Enjoy these pictures from a session of what would have been for the party invitation for our "sweet 🍩NE!" I spent most of this session running after her because she loves the chase, laughing and squealing the whole time...silly girl! Make sure to check out the last set of photos to see some of her shenanigans. She kept crawling in circles around my big rocking chair and would sit real quiet to hide, then squeal so big when I caught her!

A little background on the set up...My grandmother gave me the rocking chair in the photos for my first birthday. The big brown teddy bear was mine when I was little and the smaller bear with her name has a recording of her heartbeat in its hand from when she was still in my belly (a sweet idea a friend gave me with our first baby and something special we have done with each of our kiddos). The white blanket on the rocking chair is one my mom made for her when she was born. I had fun making her party hat and wall sign from paper we had around the house since we are trying avoid the stores when we can. I made the felt donuts from scratch for her to play with and add to our little kitchen in the playroom. The outfit hanging on the wall is the outfit she came home from the hospital. I vividly remember this time last year washing it and packing it in our hospital bag along with a little boy outfit because we didn't know if we would be bringing home a little boy or little girl. The canvas with the hand and footprints are ones we made at home when she was a few days old. It's so crazy how much changes in a year!

We are looking forward to donuts with our sweet one on her first birthday! "Donut" grow up too fast baby girl!