Happy Birthday Sarah!

Happy birthday my sweet, sweet Sarah.

It's so hard to believe that your first year has come and gone so quickly! This last year with you has meant so much to me and our entire family. You have been the perfect addition to our family and I can't imagine what life would be like without you in it. Your spunky personality, your drive to reach all your milestones, your enthusiasm as you watch and play with your brothers, your contagious laugh, your precious face and those smiling eyes of yours melt my heart time and time again. You are a true, true joy and I love calling you my daughter.

This is my favorite picture of us together right after you were born. You were so alert and just stared and listened. (excuse the bare shoulder!)


Another favorite.


And another.


And another. Your brothers adored you from the beginning.


And here you are today...such a big girl.


Full of life, full of curiosity, full of fun. You are one busy girl, I must say. You started walking at 11 1/2 months and haven't stopped since. Daddy and I have recently been calling you our little firecracker. We are thinking you are definitely going to keep us on our toes.


You recently got your 9th tooth, your first molar. And I'm certain the next one is not too far behind. You have been drooling like crazy, chewing on your fingers, fussy and not sleeping well. (but that's another story, ha!) I wish I could take the pain away for you, I know you are so uncomfortable.


Another thing worth noting is over the past month you have really become a picky eater. You literally take 2-3 bites of your food at each meal and you are done. You love dropping your food over the side of your high chair when you are done. I'm not sure if you are just too busy focusing on your gross motor skills to eat but mommy is starting to get a little stressed. I'm gonna keep trying though, that's all I know to do. Hopefully this phase will pass soon...and very soon! :)


Here are some other fun facts:
*We have always called you Sarah-bear and a few other nicknames that have stuck are Miss Bear and your brothers like to call you B-Bear!
*You have decided you don't like the pacifier anymore. You want no part of it.
*You have definitely been showing your sensitive side these days. If I have to take something away from you or get something out of your mouth, you immediately start crying. Makes me sad!
*Your first words other than ma-ma and da-da have been your version of Jacob and doggie which really sounds like da-gie. Any furry friend is a doggie to you. And sometimes up.
*You love taking things in and out and you love to open and close things.
*You are wearing size 4 diapers.
*Some of your 12-18 month clothes are getting to small and you are easily fitting into 18-24 month size clothes.
*At your well check today you weighed 22lbs 7oz. (75%) and your length was 30.5 (95%)
*Your girlie side seems to be coming out-you know just what to do with the phone.


And just what to do with mommy's sunglasses. I think we are in trouble. :)


We decided instead of one big party, we would have two smaller ones. One with Mommy's family and one with Daddy's family, this weekend. More pictures to come later. I knew I wanted to get you something special for your 1st birthday. Something you will always have, a keepsake. So I decided on a jewelry box.




I also let Jacob and Luke pick out a little something for you. We decided on a pillow pet. They got to choose just the perfect one for you. It took awhile for them to agree but they finally agreed on the butterfly. You really seem to like it and carry it around with you quite a bit.






Happy birthday my sweet girl! Our family is complete with you and we love you dearly!