Dear Charlotte,
Wow, where did a
year go? It seems like just yesterday we
were (finally) welcoming you to our world.
I remember those first few hours, staring down at your little face, your
little hands, your little toes, feeling you pee on me (twice!), and looking at
your fair skin and strawberry blonde hair.
I was certain that all of my children would have your father’s dominant
dark hair and eyes and was amazed when you were placed on my chest for the first
time. It was love at first sight and my
heart has grown to exponential proportions over the past twelve months.
You turn one
year old today and to celebrate I've taken the day off work and you’re staying
home, just Mommy and Charlotte and all of your favorite things: snuggles, playing, a trip to get your first
pair of walking shoes, lunch out, and napping. I love spending time with you one on one and
watching the wonder in your eyes, the excitement as you find a new toy, or an
old toy you haven’t played with in a while, it’s adorable to see your
speed-crawl over to the cats and start up a conversation or to watch you
proudly point at something you've done.
It will always be a miracle to me how babies go from tiny immobile
babies to fast-paced toddlers in just a year, but you’ve done just that, and
all the while with a huge grin on your face.
You’re one of
the sweetest little girls I know and truly look at the world as your adventure
zone. You are crawling everywhere, and
getting there fast! You’re pulling up
and can coast along the couch or the coffee table, but aren’t walking on your
own just yet. When your sister
reprieves, you love walking behind your “dino” and can really move behind your
trusty green friend. Your sister didn’t
walk until around 14 months and I’m thinking you’ll follow suit, which is fine
by me because I’m not sure what our world will be like with two totally mobile
kids in the house. You love to
wave, can tell us “all done” in sign language, love to raise your arms high
above your head when we ask “how big is Charlotte??,” and you try to imitate
just about anything we do.
You’re an
excellent eater and I’m cherishing this time when foods are new and exciting
versus your sister who is currently on a strict mac n cheese and PBJ diet. We’re pretty much at the point where you are
eating three meals a day and snacks with no purees and you’ve started working
on using a sippy cup at school this past week.
You’re doing pretty well and we’ll work on weaning to whole milk and
constant sippy cup use over time. I’ve
nursed you morning and night and have made it to my goal of a year, sure we had
some bumps in the road, and I didn’t always have the strongest supply, but I
took solace in knowing that you looked to me first as your source of food and
comfort. I haven’t slept away from you
since you were born and have nursed you all but one morning during your first
year of life; I can count on a couple of hands how many times someone else has
put you to bed, and I must admit that I’m going to miss that special time together. It’s not to say that we won’t still get to
cuddle, or that I won’t still rock you to sleep, it will just be different, another
new phase in both our lives.
Speaking of
sleep, you’re still a rockstar, only waking up if you need something;
unfortunately that happened quite often over the past two weeks. A combination of new teeth and a yucky virus,
and an ear infection had you down and out for a few days. Luckily antibiotics (your first round ever)
and rest got you back to your regular, happy self in a few days. Generally you’re down for the night by 7:30pm
and are a pretty sound sleeper. We can
count on hearing you talking to yourself or randomly crying out at least once a
night and it’s not uncommon to hear you starting to chitter-chatter to your
stuffed animal friends between 6:30 and 7am, but you rarely cry and are content
to hang out in your crib until we come to get you.
You continue to
be enamoured with your big sister and seek her out any chance you get. Your adoration isn’t always returned immediately,
but Anna loves you more than anything else in this world. You’re in a hair pulling phase right now and
tend to get a little hands-y if not restrained, but I’m hopeful this phase will
work itself out in a bit. You love
playing with toys and puzzles and love, love, love to read books. There are three touch-and-feel books that
were Anna’s that you particularly love to “read.” You’ll seek them out and will sit by yourself
flipping the pages for quite a while.
With your new love of pulling up, you also love to spend time “cooking”
at the kitchen playset. Sometimes it’s
less cooking and more pulling yourself up and down, but it’s adorable to
watch.
Size-wise you’re
a little heavier and a little shorter (not by much on either) than Anna was
around this time, but just as cute. It’s
been fun seeing you fit into some of your sister’s old outfits, but because of
the every-so-slight difference in seasons we’ve had to buy you new jammies and
several new outfits to last you through the end of winter (which may NEVER end,
it seems). No matter what you wear, you
look adorable.
I’ve talked to
you about your sweet and gentle personality a lot this year, and it’s not
because I don’t have anything else to say, it’s because that’s what I think of
when I think of you. My sweet, sweet
Charlotte. The little girl that gives
the biggest grins, the best hugs, the cutest open-mouth kisses, and literally
makes every day so much brighter for everyone she’s around. You have an aura about you that just makes
people smile and you delight in the smallest things in life. There’s a book and a saying all about not
sweating the small stuff and there’s some merit to that mantra … but not in
your world. You truly delight in the
small stuff and it brings a sunny perspective to each day. Each tickle of your belly, Anna doing a silly
dance, a game with Daddy, one of the cats coming over to play. You have made my world so much more complete
than I ever thought possible. You will
always be my baby, my little girl, I will always seek out your hugs, delight in
your laughter and smile when I think of the memories of your crazy fun first year
of life. Please don’t ever forget that
my shoulder is always yours to cry on, my ears are always open, and I’ll
support you through whatever life throws at you; I know that one day you’re
going to change the world – after all, you’ve already changed mine.
Love,
Mom
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