The Birthday Girl

Today is my baby girl's first birthday. She has only been with us for 365 days, yet I can't remember daily life before she was a part of it.  I've been teary and sentimental all morning- holding her, dancing with her, watching her chest rise and fall as she sleeps in my lap. I'm not sure exactly why I'm feeling so emotional about today, but I'm sure a big part of it is knowing that my last baby is a toddler now and growing more independent everyday.

Happy Birthday, Beatrice Lolly. You are the sweetest and most gentle soul I have ever met. I was so worried about how you would fit into our family of three, mostly because of your big sister's bold and energetic personality. But you have found just the right little niche for yourself.  I love your long hugs when I take you out of your crib in the morning. I love your sweet, unsolicited kisses for Dada, your quiet giggles when nursing, and your shrieks of laughter when playing with your sister.  I love how your eyes light up when you are excited and how people stop us daily to comment on their beautiful blue color. I pretty much love everything about you. I'm so excited to see what your future holds for you. Thank you for choosing me to be your momma and sharing your love with our family the last year.

Miss Beatrice Lolly

It's been awhile since I've just taken out the camera while hanging out at home. I did this week and got some cute shots of Miss Bebe. I'm so in love with her.

Happy kiddos!

Ninja Ruby; confused Bebe

Beatrice will NOT ...

... sleep in your pack-and-play.  Instead, she will provide comic relief, which fortunately makes it less frustrating when Emilia's trying to put her to sleep while on vacation.

Ruby's First Gallery Show

In addition to making (endless) videos of herself, Ruby also enjoys using our phones' cameras to take pictures.  As an experiment, I tasked Ruby with taking photos of anything she found interesting.  Here is the result:

Ruby, the big girl

My super smart big girl just counted to 100 all by herself. I'm so proud of her that I wanted to document it on our blog. Last week, she read a favorite book to David, pointing to each individual word as she went. Seeing how proud she was of herself literally brought tears to my eyes. Ruby amazes me daily with her desire to learn new things- I hope she never loses that.