Baby Girl is ONE

I can't believe the time has come to write this post. My baby girl is ONE!!!! Lauren turned one on Monday. Lauren has been a true blessing ever since the moment we found out we were expecting. I'll have to admit that I have been dreading this day in a way. I feel like I no longer have a baby. I now have a pre-toddler. Every day her personality is revealed more and more. She is an extremely happy baby, that loves to say Hi to everyone!!! She giggles or screams depending on what is going on around her. Wyatt loves to take toys away from her. Her defense mechanism?? To scream and bite if he gets close enough. Her vocabulary has now expanded to include the following words: "momma, dadda, nonna, dog, bye, hi, and here." Any time she tries to hand you something or wants something from you, she says, "he-a" for here. I noticed her always saying that and then realized that I constantly say here to her when I am trying to get her attention to give her something. She has taken 6 steps on her own, and would probably be full force walking if Wyatt didn't like to take push toys away from her! :) The joys of having an older brother. I had 4, so I can relate!! She seems pretty independent, and loves to feed herself with a spoon. It's not neat, but she seems to get enough in to fill her tummy. She loves to snuggle and to read books. She loves to be around Wyatt and squeals when she sees him. They kiss each other several times a day! It's really quite sweet. On her first birthday, she had 4 teeth, with a few more almost to the point of making a break through! I'm expecting them any day. My mom didn't want to miss her birthday celebration and was out of town for Labor Day weekend, so we are having a family only birthday party on Sunday. I'll have more pictures to share of the party next week. We could not, however, ignore her actual birthday and had a few friends and Nathan's parents over for dinner on Monday. I was going to wait on a smash cake, but my friend Ashley made one and brought it to her. Here is Lauren digging in. To her excitement, she will have another opportunity to dig into a cake on Sunday!!



All smiles:

Feeding herself