Oh my, Miss Rose - how you have changed in the past year!! You are no longer a stationary baby, happy to sit contently in one spot. You've grown into a very busy little girl - you are always on the move!! You have a mind all of your own - you know exactly what you want and are determined to communicate those wants, whether it's pointing, using baby signs (some of which you made up all on your own!), or grabbing my hand and leading me wherever you want to go.
You are all girl! You love playing dress-up - putting on shoes, hats, scarfs, undies! Basically anything you can find!
You have become quite obsessed with your brothers undies, insisting that mom helps you put them on. Removing them is not an option - you must wear them all day long!
You love cuddling with your stuffed animals and giving them hugs and kisses. You especially like your kitty cat - the one that purrs when you pet it. You always want to take it to bed. But the purring is so loud! When I try to turn off the sound, you immediately ask for it to be turned back on. That kitty MUST purr!
You love animals of all kinds! You are always trying to pet and squeeze our kitties and you get so excited when you see the neighbors' puppies. Spending Friday mornings at the horse stables is extra exciting for an animal lover like you with your choice of horses, dogs or the calico barn cat.
You are starting to talk more and more - it is so exciting for everyone! You are always saying "bye", whether to your brothers and Pa at bedtime, the checkout lady at the grocery store, the kitties, your toys, even the food in the pantry!! Other words you've mastered are: Mom, Pa, hi, "baa" (bath), "yaya" (yeah), "ahpa" (apple) and "ah bow" (eye-brow) - of all things - you are obsessed with eye-brows!!
Speaking of eye-brows, you have peeked a real interest about all the different parts of the face. Every night before bed, we play "Name That Body Part" as you point to your nose, then my nose; your eyes, then my eyes; and so on. Your favorite (besides eye-brows) is teeth. You'll point back and forth from Mom's teeth to your own. And boy, do you have a mouth full of teeth! Your sweet gummy grin has been replaced with the silly toddler smile - scrunched up nose, clenched teeth and squinted eyes. You crack us up with all your funny expressions!
Another bedtime favorite is reading the book, "That's Not My Baby", but you only really like the last two pages. One is of a baby wearing a bib and holding a sippy cup. You love saying your most used phrase "uh-uh" while pointing to the different things on the page, waiting for Mom's response to what each item is.
The other page you love has a mirror so you can see yourself and give yourself all sorts of kisses and licks. Yes, you love licking that page! And then you wait with a big smile for Mom to dry the page with your much loved elephant blankie. We do this over and over as you flip back and forth between these two pages every night.
Your elephant blankie has become your all time favorite and most loved item. It's THE blankie of choice whenever you lay down for bed. You love it so much that Mom had to order a replacement blankie off Ebay just in case, Heaven forbid, anything ever happens to that blankie!
No bedtime routine can be complete without singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" three, four or five times! You request it every night by taking my hand and lifting it into the air. Sometimes you even hum along, although most often you just suck on your middle and ring finger while holding your elephant blankie with your other hand.
You LOVE being outside! You would spend all day exploring the plants and rocks, jumping from one toy to another, splashing in the water table and zooming down the slide. If given the option between heading outside to play and taking a bath (another one of your favorites), you choose outside.
On your family day this year, we were on spring break, enjoying the sand and sunshine of southern California. You could not have been happier escaping the cold Minnesota weather for some fun in the sun. We drove to the La Jolla area that day. After lots of looking and walking (or strolling for you), we finally found a beach area that we could navigate to with the stroller. You were in Heaven! You love the beach! The water, the sand, the sun! You had no fear and would take off running right towards the water. You kept us on our toes running after you!
By the end of our beach adventure, you were exhausted and slept the entire drive back to the resort.
That night you played dress up as you often do. You got into your brother's undies and shoes and Pa's belt and strutted your stuff around our hotel room. You are too cute for words!!
We are so blessed to have been chosen just for you. You are our amazing, smart, curious and spunky little girl. It's hard to believe you've only been with us for 1 year. That we have only laid our eyes on your smile, heard your laugh, felt your hugs for a mere 12 months. It feels like we have always been together. You have lit up our world. You are our missing piece.
We love you to the moon and back!
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