Woolgathering : November 2012

An entire year has gone by since I first laid eyes on my baby girl. An entire year since I saw her little face looking at me for the first time. An entire year since she came into this world with wide eyes, taking in everything around her. (She hasn't stopped being curious.) An entire year since I learned that your heart can grow three sizes to make room for more children.

So much happens over the first year of a babies life, contrary to my previous beliefs babies do not just eat, poop and sleep. (Though those long first few weeks/months feel that way.) I have watched my daughter grow from a tiny newborn, relying on me (and Steve) for everything to an almost walking, babbling, want to grab it and do it baby girl. I know the next year will bring even more independence for her and with each passing day she is taking steps further away from the newborn I held and snuggled in my arms. I love and embrace the independence but "as long as I'm living my baby she'll be".

Isla is still a little girl, she is wearing 6-9 month clothes but loves to eat and is definitely growing! Her stats at her one year appointment were:

weight: 17lbs (11th percentile)

length: 28.25inches (19th percentile)

Head: 44.5 cm (38th percentile)

Isla,

You are still mommy's sweet cuddling girl, but your curiosity drive you to want to crawl around and check everything out.
You are not walking full time but you can take quite a few steps in a row before you plop down on your bootie and start crawling.
You might be small but you know what you want and you are NOT happy when you don't get it. In fact, at daycare it has been said you push other kids. Please keep this mind of your own but refrain from bullying, it will get you nowhere.
You give sweet, sloppy kisses. Your brother loves to get kisses before you guys go to bed.
I sing "I Will" by The Beatles to you nightly and pray that you will grow up to be a loving, caring person who will love people and will shine like the sun with the love of Jesus. I pray that you will let him shine through in all you do and accept all people, make them feel loved and show them the love of Jesus through your actions. (Wait, maybe that is what I want for me and you...)
You love to get in on Cian and daddy's battles on the bed. You laugh huge belly laughs and like to be tossed around like a big kid.
You do not like to keep your socks on, even when it is cold outside. I think we have a lot of tights in our future this winter.
You love all things soft. That means stuffed animals, jackets, towels, clothes etc. You love to pick something up and carry it around with you. You carry it a little while you walk and then will keep holding it when you go down to crawl.
You still use your right foot to push off when you crawl. You never crawled "normal" but always used the foot to push off.
Bedtime is easier now, most nights you go to bed pretty easily and sleep all night. Occasionally you will wake up looking for your pacifier but will go back to sleep.
You are not a huge fan of napping, you do fight that. Much like your brother, if there is something going on you want to be awake for it.
You are not as into being the center of attention as your brother was. You want attention but you don't want everyone in the room looking at you.
You don't really love to be fed, but want to be a big girl and feed yourself now.

Isla, I am still so thankful that God choose me to be your mommy. I can't believe you have been hanging around with a piece of my heart for a year. That piece belongs to you now. I know you will treasure it and you deserve to have a portion of my heart. One day, I will not be cool (at least in your eyes, I know I am still cool) and I will not have all the answers but I will wait. I will watch you go through the years where I am your hero and I will strive to deserve that admiration. I will stand back, though it may break my heart, when you realize I am human and don't know everything and I will wait. I will actively wait for the questions about boys and groceries and how to do laundry. I will wait until the day when you walk down the aisle with your daddy toward your love and then for the day when you look your children in the face and realize there is a love that you never knew existed in the world, the love for your child. The love of a mother.

Thank you for giving me that love for a second time. I am very blessed to be called Isla's mom.

Love,
Mommy

I have to tell you guys something that will come as quite a shock. Steve and I have another new nephew!! I know, it seems our families (ok, especially his) are multiplying a lot and it is so much fun. I mean, who doesn't like an entire army of kids running around and screaming on holidays? All kidding aside, I am so excited to have so many nieces and nephews and that my kids have so many cousins around their age.

Steve's sister, Amanda and her husband Daniel had their third baby, Jacob Daniel on September 17th. I was lucky enough to be off work the day he was born so the kids and I were able to go to Birmingham to visit and see them in the hospital. I LOVE getting to see babies in the hospital. They are so new and so fresh and the new baby smell (can someone package that please?) is so strong on their sweet little heads. There is really nothing like a new life, a clean slate, a complete and utter miracle from God. There is so much beauty in the rise and fall of their tiny little chest, the tiny grunting noises and the meek infant cries. I think going to the hospital to see a newborn brings back that sweet serenity of the first days of your child's life as you get to know them and they get to know you. (The feedings every two hours and crying fits, yours not theirs, are completely forgotten.) Oh, how wonderful it is to reminisce with someone's newborn that you do not have to get up all night to nurse. (P.S. I am mourning not nursing anymore, but that is another blog post altogether.)

It is also exciting to see your parents (or parent's in law in this case) become grandparents again. You would think that after the first two (or nine) it would lose it luster but it doesn't seem to. I saw my parents with my nephew Brycen and Steve's parents with Jake and they are just as in love each and every time they get to be called a grandparent.

What am I waiting for, enough babbling, let's see a cute baby! (Did you guys know there is a facebook app to block people's baby photos? I know I must be all kinds of blocked!)