Our baby girl is a whole year! It was a quick and wonderful twelve months getting to know this little lady. She has a sweet and calm demeanor, although the last few days seem to have brought out her feisty side. She has brought us all so much happiness and has certainly increased the love in our home--you know, all the usual first birthday cliches. They are just too true!
I have never thrown a really big party for my girls' first birthdays, and this one was certainly the smallest event of them all. But at the end of our simple night, my heart was full of so much joy and love for my little family, so I would say it was a success.
And Miss Ivy seemed to enjoy it, too. Her big sisters are always there to help, and made certain her presents were opened and her cake was smashed. That little cake came straight from the cooler at our local Smith's bakery, and it was a good lesson in not choosing blue frosting the next time we do this sort of thing. The babe enjoyed her sugar rush, and we all enjoyed watching her turn into a Smurf from all the fun.
It's truly amazing to think about how much a baby grows and develops in twelve months. From our itty bitty newborn to a spunky and active toddler, I am so grateful that Ivy has been blessed with good health this year. She is still our little runt, but we kind of like it that way. She weighed a whopping 16 pounds (11%) and was 28 inches long (19%) at her one year well check. The other day she was sitting next to me on the floor at the girls' dance rehearsal and a lady exclaimed that she couldn't believe she was doing that. I assumed she meant just sitting still and watching, but no--she just meant sitting. I am sure people mistake her for a 6-8 month-old on a regular basis.
The week of her birthday just happened to coincide with a huge developmental jump. In the course of a week she weaned herself in one day, started sleeping through the night, and decided she hated being rocked to sleep in the process. It was sort of crazy, but all good things.
When it comes to food she is still eating like a champ, putting her now seven teeth to good use each day. I don't know where all the food goes, but she's definitely shoveling it in there. And it's always obvious when she's done with a particular meal, as it all ends up on the floor instead of in her mouth.
She has started taking a few steps on her own. I wouldn't say she is a walker yet, but she is getting better each day. The older girls both walked closer to 14 months, so Ivy Jo is a little early to that party.
She loves her lamb binky when it's time for bed (and any other binky before that). She has to be sucking on one and holding another in her hands when she falls asleep. She uses a sound machine at bedtime (happy birthday present), and that seems to help with her sleep habits. She enjoys pulling clothes out of drawers, closing doors, and emptying any basket she can find. Her favorite activity is trying to do anything and everything her big sisters are doing, which leads to lots of "Bad Baby!" comments from Eliza. But I guess she doesn't take it personally, because it's obvious Eliza is sort of her favorite person. It's so fun to watch them interact and love on each other, and Ivy definitely gives the most kisses to her second biggest sis.
She loves to wave and say "hi!" She will also say mama, dada, and bye. Last night she proved to me that she can sign "more" and keeps us all laughing with her silly faces.
There is so much to love about our Ivy Jo. She has taught me how to be a better mother, her dad a better father, and her sisters how to be better sisters. She brings a light to our world that we didn't know was missing, and has helped us all focus a little bit more on what's most important life. We are grateful every day that she decided to join our chaos, and we can't imagine life without her.
Happy Birthday, Ivy Jo!
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