One Year

There is a part of me that feels like Wren was just born. But then the other part of me, the bigger part, feels like I've known her and loved her forever. She is such a part of me now that I don't remember what it was like to exist without her. 

Our little feisty girl turned one last week, and I'm experiencing all of the Mommy emotions at such a major milestone it my little one's young life. I can't believe how this tiny baby has become a little person. She has more personality and independence I thought could possibly be squeezed into such a small package. She impresses me every day with everything she has learned, and continues to learn. Here are Wren's current stats:

Weight/Length: ??

Milestones:

In the last month, Little Miss has gone from walking to running. She NEVER crawls anymore, and has decided that walking isn't fast enough, so running has become her main mode of transportation. She likes to freak her Mommy out and run with articles of clothing on her head, and then proceed to run into stationary objects...like her high chair. Wren continues to add more words to her vocabulary, and can usually be heard saying either, "uh oh" or "dog, woof woof." Her newest words are "hi" and "thank you." She also loves to make animal noises upon command. You ask her what a certain animal "says" and she responds. She has mastered "woof, woof," "meow," "neigh, neigh," and "moo" (which sounds an awful lot like "meow"). Wren can now identify certain body parts, particularly her eyes, nose, belly and toes. But she prefers to point them out on other people. Daddy has gotten many fingers to the eyeball this month, which is always entertaining.  Wren is also the champion high fiver and hugger. She still refuses to give kisses though...

Loves: Reading books with Mommy and Daddy. Her favorite books are "First 100 Words" and her BabyLit version of "Les Miserables." She especially loves when she is told to "turn the page" and often tries to flip the pages prematurely. Wren continues to love dancing more than anything which makes her music-loving Daddy happy. She has also developed a love for her blankets this month, and will throw a fit if anyone tries to take her blanket away. Wren also has developed a strange love for dragging laundry around the house. She likes to venture into the laundry room, pull clothes out of the hamper (dirty or clean, she doesn't discriminate), and drag them around behind her.

Hates: Does it even have to be said? Wren still loathes her carseat, of course. She also hates having anything taken away from her, and lets her displeasure be known with some ear-piercing screams. It's quite pleasant. 

Watching this girl grow over the last year has been such a joy, and seeing her progression pictures makes me realize just how far she has come.

To celebrate Wren's birthday, her Dad and I threw her a fiesta. Wren LOVES Mexican food (like her Daddy), and LOVES to dance...so we figured it was the perfect birthday theme for our little girl. Most of our family members were able to join us in celebration, and fun was had by all. 

The kids enjoyed some pretty exciting activities, and I'm bummed I wasn't able to get photos of them all. They colored pictures, took photos with fun fiesta-themed props, made flower crowns, played pin the tail on the donkey, and played with balloons. 

I set a goal early in Wren's life to wait until her first birthday to give her sugar. Surprisingly, we were able to stick to that goal, even though my family gave me a hard time about it. I assumed that she would dig into her smash cake, but surprisingly, our crazy girl gingerly touched the frosting, and didn't really want anything to do with it. Once she was given a few bites, she warmed up to the idea of eating it, but there was definitely no "smashing" of the cake involved.

We love this little girl of ours, and had such an amazing time celebrating her first birthday. It took a lot of work, but seeing our Wren light up at the crowd of people waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs as she came down from her nap was worth the late hours. I will be happy if I never have to see a piece of tissue paper again, but I'm glad it all came together. She ran around the house, clutching a balloon the whole day, and laughing at the antics of all of of her cousins. We are so blessed to have our amazing family, and especially our little Wren.

Happy birthday, Wren. We love you!