A Letter to my Birthday Girl

June 20, 2010

Dear Evynn,

You are turning one year old! I can’t believe how quickly this last year has passed. It feels like only yesterday that Daddy and I were on our way to the hospital so you could be born. We were so excited. The anticipation of meeting our new little one had been building for nine months, and we were finally going to get to hold you, see what you looked like, and get to know you. I knew that something wonderful was about to happen, but I had no idea how wonderful it would really be. From the moment the doctor placed you in my arms and every moment since, you have brought so much joy, laughter, wonder and happiness into our lives.

You are very lucky. There are so many people in your life who love you so much and want only the very best things for you. You have been blessed with three great grandmothers, a great grandfather, two grandmas, three grandpas, and aunt, and two uncles. All of these people would say, though, that they are the ones who are lucky because they get to watch you grow.

We are still learning about you, but this is what we know already: You have an insatiable curiosity. You love to explore and touch things. You watch everything that is going on around you, and want to know more about it. You want to learn by touching, tasting, and looking at things. You point to objects all day long in hopes that we will tell you more about them. You love to learn from books. You look at the pictures in such a way that I know you are really figuring out the way the world works.

You have a sweet, gentle, and happy personality. People often comment on what a laid-back and content baby you are. You are happy just about all of the time. We have been blessed with lots of Evynn smiles over the past year. When we are planning to take you somewhere new or do a new activity with you, we always wonder if you will like it or not. We shouldn’t wonder, though, because you always do! You love everything, and can find a reason to smile no matter where we are or what we are doing.

You love to learn. Every new thing that you learn is absolutely amazing to watch. The spark of amazement in your eyes when you figured out how to bat at toys with your hands, the determination in your wobbly first crawl, the pride on your face when you pulled yourself up to stand for the first time… You show incredible patience and persistence when learning something new. When it’s hard and frustrating, you calmly try again, and again until you have it mastered.

Above all, this is what I know: You are an amazing human being, and you are going to grow up to do wonderful things. I want for you to be happy and healthy and confident in yourself. I want you to live to your full potential and do the things that you love with nothing holding you back. I feel so lucky to be along for the ride. You are a “big girl” now, but to me, you will always be my baby. I love you so much, my sweet baby.
Happy Birthday.

Love,

Mommy

Berry Sweet things that Evynn did today

1. After she brushed her own teeth, she brushed her stuffed dog's teeth too!

2. She shared her banana with me. She took a bite then held it out for me to take a bite, took another bite, held it out for me...

3. We were playing with a frog puppet, and she kept taking her pacifier out of her mouth and putting it in the frog's mouth.

4. She escaped with a bare bottom during a diaper change. She giggled uncontrollably when she made a puddle on the floor. :-)

cake smash

Babies have been smashing up their first birthday cakes since, well, since they started getting birthday cakes! More recently, the cake smash has become a very important event. In fact, instead of a piece of cake, often babies get a whole cake to themselves to maul to pieces. And...the newest fad is to do a formal "cake smash" photo shoot. We did one in our living room, and it was a blast! Here's a little bit of the fun:

Excuses, excuses

I know, I'm a terrible blogger. This tends to get pushed to the bottom of my to-do list, and then eventually forgotten. =/ Here are my excuses...

1. I've been slaving away on Evynn's playhouse in hopes that it will be done before her birthday. 2 sides are done, 1 side is almost done, and 1 side is still blank. All four sides have been sewn to the top, and one side seam is done. Phew! Here's a glimpse of what it will look like.

2. Evynn has gotten another new tooth, which means that we have been having lots of cuddle time and very little "mommy has free hands to type on her blog" time.

Can you see her new top tooth? That makes one on top and one on bottom.

And with new teeth comes a new toothbrush! She was using a baby finger-brush before, but she's very excited to have a toothbrush that looks like mommy and daddy's now!

COSI!

Today, we visited COSI (Center of Science and Industry...Columbus's children's science museum). A.K.A. toddler heaven! COSI's "Little Kid Space" has all of Evynn's favorite things. Climbing,

toys,






water play,

and everywhere you look...BALLS!

Coloring

A few weeks ago, we let Evynn try using crayons, but she decided she would rather eat them. Today, we gave it another shot, and while she still thinks they're pretty tasty, she also liked drawing on paper! After watching Mommy draw some lines on paper, Evynn added her own! She drew several pictures, here's one:

Another HOT day!

More fun in the pool.

Followed by some cuddle time in the hammock.