Dear Julia, You're 1!

Dear Baby Julia,

You're 1 year old.

Here's the thank you card I sent out, The front, the inside left, the inside right where I wrote, then I used a random picture of you with your pinata for the back. (I was just going to do a flat card and would write in a section on the back, but then added another photo and went for a folded card.) The smash cake was not at all what I thought we were ordering. I had said "pink ombre with red on the bottom up to white on the top, or just a dark pink on the bottom." I thought the icing would be that color, not all white then airbrushed this odd pink color on a tiny asymmetric cake. Oh well, you're cute.
This cake would've been awesome.

or this 

 but I thought I was getting the outside to be this 

A couple of weeks ago you started standing on your own, taking steps, using spoons and forks, signing, and talking a tiny bit.

Your verbal words are mostly book and ball. You mostly say in a sort of question-like whine, the "b" sound with the start of the word, but only the vowel(s) sound blended with it, like "Boo_" for book, "B' " for Bird, "Ba' " for ball, and it seems like you have another.

Your signs are hitting your mouth for water, food, or pacifier,
Tucking your hands under your chin for baby,
Clapping your hands for book or ball,
Punching one hand into the open palm of your other for more,
Pinching your first finger and thumb for bird or outside,
and that's about it I think.
You pat the top of your head where there's often a hair bow for blanket. I think your intention is to drag your hand down your cheek, but you notice the bow and pat that area instead. I just figured out the sign after you had been doing it for a while.

You love books.

You intently watch us for learning new words and sounds.

Your hair gets a little curly when humid. 

You weigh 18lbs finally and had a well visit! You have had sick visits lately. So you're in the 5th percentile. (I just looked that up, not sure how accurate the babycenter.com is.)

You can sorta use a fork. You definitely do and do not want to eat certain things but it switches.

You love raisins, and prefer to eat them right from the mini box. I don't even need to cut them. If you don't like a food, you'll sometimes eat it from a different container (Think Green Eggs and Ham's logic of "would you eat them in my bowl? Would you eat them if I left them whole?" type of logic.)

You'll down a squeezy pouch when hungry. (I love that they make baby food come in pouches, That was awesome with Tyler too.)

You'll drink water from any sippy cup, my cup, with a straw, a sports bottle, whatever. You even drank it from a medicine dropper.

You like cereal bars and oatmeal and grits too, any time of day.

You leave hair bows in your hair.

5/20/15
You started officially walking instead of crawling for Corrie last Tuesday, May 19th. You were proud of yourself that evening. Now, you don't crawl at all. You had been doing a bear crawl to be fast b/c you were done with your knees. You would walk short distances then fall on purpose to get the job done more efficiently on all fours. You're a walker now though!

I love that you still nurse in the middle of the night. When you were sick, you were cluster feeding lots and you were so uncomfortable. You don't usually ask to nurse. You do sign for it or put your hand down my shirt (only like 4 times, but that was 4 too many times) when I pick you up from somewhere and missed me. You don't really want/need to in the day. Sometimes I try to nurse you before nap time or something to get you in a more calm happy mood. Eh, sometimes you agree. I LOVE to snuggle with you and to pet your hair and feel your feet and thighs and sometimes play with one another's nails when you nurse or cuddle. You're my baby girl and I'm so happy to have you.