happy 1st birthday, sweet Lauren Mary!

Tonight at 12:53 AM our little miss Lauren is 1.  I know everyone says time just flies by, but seriously it feels like just yesterday that she joined our family. I can not believe she is 1 already. 

 She is the happiest little girl ever and full of smiles and laughs for anyone (as long as she knows them).  We are still working on strangers, especially the gym daycare.  She DOES NOT like being left there at all.  Today I didn't even get out the door before she was screaming.  

 Her little personality is definitely emerging and she's discovered screaming.  If she wants something and I haven't read her mind and given it to her...she just lets out a high pierced scream to let us know.  We seriously need to get her talking soon if this is going to continue. :)

 She has 6 teeth now but is going through a bit of a eating strike.  If it's not yogurt, eggs or milk, she's basically refusing to eat the past couple weeks.  I can't figure out if she's getting more teeth so she only wants "soft" foods or just angry I'm weaning her or maybe she's just starting to get pickier but she doesn't want any of the meat, fruit or vegetables that she ate so well for the last 4-6 months. 

 We go tomorrow morning to our new pediatrician here in Plymouth so we'll find out her 1 year stats but her weight has definitely slowed down.  I would predict she's just around 26/27 pounds (Will was 27 at a year and Dylan was 23). 

She is now a rock star sleeper!  Thank you tubes.  She's out like a light around 6:30 and I normally don't hear a peep from her until 6:30/7 the next morning. She also still takes two 1.5-2 hour naps.  Yay! 

 The only word she says is Mama.  She will point and shake her arms for things that she wants and she's signed "more" to me once but we're still working on the signing (Mommy needs to get going on this!).  She will do "so big", give kisses and loves to cuddle with me.  

She started clapping a couple weeks ago and thinks it's hilarious to clap and laugh at herself.  

 She crawls everywhere (except the stairs, surprisingly she's left those alone) and is getting really fast.  The boys like to play hide and seek around our coffee table or kitchen table and they chase her on their knees.  She squeals and laughs so hard.  I'll have to get a video of it because it's super cute. 

 She will also pull herself up onto anything and cruises along the furniture but doesn't let go just yet.  I'm predicting she'll be my slowest walker yet.  Will walked at 14 months (Dylan at 12), and I bet she's closer to 15.  She seems pretty far away from walking right now. 

 She absolutely loves her baths, pools, any water.  She's a pool rat and just dives right in (this could be dangerous come November and spending two weeks again in Florida) but I love that she loves it.  She crawls right in, not realizing she can't swim. 

 Turning 1 typically signifies the end of the bottle...well that won't be a problem for you since you've refused bottles since the day you were born :)  Good thing Mommy didn't invest in new bottles for you because they would have been a total waste of money.  Goodbye bottles forever! 

 Most people now say you look more and more like Will, and I'm starting to see that.  You definitely have his hair (straight) and his eyes (blue).  And those eyes, seriously melt my heart!!  I did spot a few little curls in the back of your hair the other day when it was really humid, so maybe there's still hope for a little curl for my baby girl! 

 Everyone comments on your thighs...you're super chunky, rolls everywhere that I can't get enough of.  I just want to squeeze you, they are so adorable!  I see them thinning out a little but I'll soak them up while you have them.

 Lauren, you are the light of our family and the boys (and us) adore you.  I took too many pictures to write between every one of them so I'll let the rest of the photos do the talking.  Happy 1 year baby girl! 

 as you can see, I tried to get her to dig into her cake three separate times.  She wouldn't do it.  She just wanted the frosting and was so particular sticking her fingers in and licking them perfectly before sticking the next one it.  It was so funny. 

hamming it up for the camera! :)

Alright Mommy, I'm DONE! 

happy happy birthday miss Lauren, we love you more than words can say and look forward to celebrating YOU all day tomorrow!