1 Year!

It's her birthday and she can cry if she wants to! These photo shoots have become so difficult and she was very ready for her nap! 

Brooklyn is one!! It's hard to wrap my brain around that fact. How did that happen?? I feel like it was just yesterday that I popped her out, but at the same time it's hard to remember ever being pregnant (which I consider a blessing) and life before her. I couldn't help but daydream about the day she was born and tear up as I watched her walk all over the place, knowing she was no longer my little infant. She has brought so much joy into our lives and I feel so blessed to be her "mama". 

Here are some things about Brooklyn at 1 year:

Stats:

Weight: 24 lb (95th percentile)

Height: 32 in (Over the 100th Percentile, again)

Head: 18 1/4 in (85th percentile)

-She is a super tall girl!! When we go to the park she is the same height or taller than some of the 

18 month - 2 year olds. We might have a volleyball player on our hands if she keeps it up!

-I've had multiple people comment on her "olive skin." I'm not sure if I can tell if she has olive skin or not yet but I sure hope she got that gene from Scotty! I hope all our kids get the beautiful, Anderson dark skin and not my pasty whiteness!!

-She is walking all over the place! It is becoming less and less waddle-like and she is getting much faster!

-She is a great little eater!! She definitely has her preferences but she rarely completely refuses anything. She eats pretty much whatever we are eating, which is so nice! Some of her favorites include: cuties (obsessed with these right now!), strawberries, peas, corn, green beans, avocados (also an obsession!), chicken, and anything sweet! 

-She can sign "more" & "all done"-I think it's so cute when she will find a cutie in the frig and instantly start signing "more."

-LOVES to play in the refrigerator!

-Her personality is starting to come out more and more. She is definitely starting to be a little tease and loves to sneak up on us and is so playful! 

-She is a SCREAMER! Screams when we take away something she wants, yikes! She's a feisty little thing!

-She can climb on our couches now and this is one of her new favorite things to do. She also loves to play on our bed and will wrestle with all the pillows! - so funny to watch!

-She is always forming attachments to things. Right now she is very attached to her pink blankie and her Mickey Mouse (which she calls "Gee!") One of my favorite things is when she walks around with her paci in her mouth and her blanket tucked up by her face!

-Loves to go outside and will bang on the front door and yell b/c she wants to go "bye bye." I often times have to take her for a little walk around the front of the house. 

-We have been having beautiful weather (60s & sunny) so we go to the park almost everyday. Brooklyn loves to play in the sand, go down the slides, climb up the stairs, and be around other little kids. 

-We are back to 2 naps! I tried transitioning her to 1 b/c she was skipping her afternoon nap day after day. When I first started trying it, she did really well and her one nap started getting longer. But then after a few days, she started to get SUPER tired in the morning again and then her nap would only be 1 1/2 hours (which is how long each of her 2 are, meaning she was getting half the amount of sleep)...so this led to a very tired, monster child! One morning she was so tired that I felt too bad keeping her up any longer so I put her down for a morning nap and prayed, prayed, prayed that she would still take an afternoon one. And she did! She hasn't skipped any naps since then...some days she goes down right away but other days she will play for awhile before going to sleep. I'm not sure what her deal was for a while but I'm so glad she is back to 2 b/c she is a much happier baby!

-Her two, front, top teeth are breaking through her gums. These have seemed to be much more painful than the bottom two - poor girl!

-Gets SO excited when she hears the door opening and Scotty comes in after work. She gets so mad/sad every time he leaves her in the morning, so I have to distract her when he's leaving. 

-A moment I want to remember: About a week ago Brooklyn was having a hard time with her teething pain and woke up screaming at 3am. I usually don't go into her room anymore b/c she will usually fall right back asleep if she wakes up but this time it was a much more painful cry and she wasn't stopping. So I got her some Tylenol and rubbed teething gel on her gums. I decided to try and rock her for a while but didn't think she would let me. But she nestled right into my chest, wrapped one arm around my back, and stroked my arm with the other. I played with her hair, placed my cheek on her forehead, and felt like I was in pure heaven. I didn't care that it was 3 am and that I was exhausted, I never get that precious cuddle time anymore, so I stayed there for about an hour till she was pretty much asleep. It's moments like that that make all the hard times so worth it. 

-When we say, "Where is Daddy or Mommy's belly button?" she pulls up our shirts and puts her finger in our belly buttons! so funny! 

-When we say, "How big is Brooklyn?!" She puts her arms in the arm and waits for us to say, "so big!"

We love our little girl and watching her grow up - just wish time would slow down!

Another cute outfit made from Grandma Martin...

She is a messy eater and loves to smash her food and rub it in her hair!

"Can I get out of here already?!"...

 Having some lunch...

Nighttime bottle and snuggles before bed...

Another outfit by Grandma Martin....Brooklyn kills me on Sundays!!

  This is such a Brooklyn face!!...

Loves to push the light switches...makes me nervous!!

Happy 1 year Brooklyn!!