Violet - One Year

One. Year. Old. You're a one year old sweetheart! I still can't believe it. This letter is a little late because I've been having trouble bringing myself to write it - so bittersweet. You babyhood is over and you toddlerhood has just begun.

The biggest milestone this month? Walking! You finally started to crawl last month, but all along you've really been wanting to stand up and WALK. And walk you do. It started with five or six steps, followed by quick sprints from point A to point B. Then one day, you stood up, ran down the hall, and turned. the. corner. I was shocked. Amazed. So proud of you and scared for you all at the same time. Along with walking has come more baby proofing and more bumps on the head, but it's all worth it because you are the happiest you've ever been. You were never much of a chill out, sit still kind of baby. You've always been a mover and a shaker and walking makes all of that moving and shaking much more possible.

Those fine motor skills are becoming more and more refined. You can put legos together, stack the rings on your ring stacker, and pick up the tiniest teeniest things - beads, specks of dirt, and pebbles to name a few. Your treasures always slowly migrate toward your mouth as you look at us like, Well, are you going to stop me?

You've been gradually amassing some outside toys, mostly courtesy of your birthday! Neighbors, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and grandparents have all contributed to your stash. One of your favorite things is your outside walking toy - it helps you to walk around out there without scuffing up your cute little knees and chubby little arms (toppling over outside is always so much scarier than taking a tumble inside). You also LOVE your wagon. It's one of the few places that you will sit perfectly still. You just hold onto the sides and observe the world around you, while occasionally waving to your friends, passing squirrels, and people walking their dogs.

You are now eating carrots and potatoes - both puree and finger food. It still isn't your favorite thing, but we're definitely making progress! Dada is now in your repertoire to the joy of your father. Last month definitely belonged to your daddy, as your mama was sick with bronchitis, but THIS month - this month belongs to your mother for sure. You poor papa hurt his back and has been out of commission for part of the month, so we've spent a lot of time together. Your daddy still does his best to get down on the floor and play with you though - he loves you so much.

Speaking of the floor - whenever one of us gets horizontal, you love to give us snuggles. I can't tell you how much we love this. You were never much of a snuggler, so we're eating it up while we can!

You're still our little dancing queen. In fact, Abba's Dancing Queen is one of your favorites songs to dance to. Stealing your mama's cell phone is a ton of fun as well - you love to push the buttons and put the phone up to your ear. You've really started to imitate us and it's so much fun!

There are so many new things every day something changes - I can hardly keep up! Although at times this year has at times been tiring and tough, it's also been the best and most rewarding year of my life. Thank you for making every day meaningful. We love you our sweet little Violet! Hugs and kisses.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy