July 20, 2013
Dear Vivian,
Hello Sweets! Look at you…one year old! I just
can’t comprehend how a whole year has gone by already. And, at the same time, I
can hardly remember my life without you. You are my girl. My miracle girl. The
little girl I never thought I would have, and then for a moment feared I
wouldn’t get to keep. But here you are, my wonderful joyful spunky hilarious
tough-as-nails girl. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you this past year. I
can’t wait to see what your future holds.
You are doing a lot these days. You have 6 teeth (4
top, 2 bottom). You eat any and every food we will give you. You crawl fast and
can even get up and down the step, although sometimes you land on your face
(sorry!). You love music and you like to bounce and clap when you hear it. You
love your brother and when the two of you see each other you both start
squawking and get right in each other’s faces until you are both giggling with
delight. He carries you around when I’m not paying attention and sometimes you
don’t even mind. He wants you to do everything with him, and mostly you comply.
You love your dad too, when he comes home from work you greet him with a joyful
“hi dada!” You like to talk and babble a lot, you always want to be part of our
conversations. You repeat a lot of words but the words I have heard you say on
your own so far are: “Dada”, “Mama”, “Bubba” or almost “Brother”, “Hi”, “Nana”
(for banana) and “Doggy”. I can already tell you will be quite a talker!
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| You then... |
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| ...You now! |
For your first birthday we spent the weekend in
Shelton at Grandma & Grandpa’s house. On Saturday, your actual birthday, we
went out on Grandpa’s boat on Puget Sound and kayaked around between the
islands. It was a beautiful warm day. Uncle Tim had to work so he and Auntie
Anne got there around dinnertime with Ari and Kaia. We had turkey burgers for
dinner and then had a campfire.
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| on the boat with Grandma |
Sunday morning we went to their church and then you
took a nap while we all got things ready for your party. Weeks ago I asked Liam
what kind of birthday party he though you would like and he decided you should
have a “purple party.” So, that’s what we did. We went all out. The menu was:
Blackberry glazed salmon, purple potato salad, roasted beets & carrots,
purple sesame coleslaw, purple fruit salad, purple (blue) corn chips and berry
lemonade.
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| Daddy did the decorations for you |
Just for fun I re-created the birthday cake Grandma
had made for me when I turned one. It was shaped like a bunny. For you I made
the cake inside purple, it was blueberry-coconut flavored. You loved it. You
ate the entire tail, which was made from an extra-large cupcake covered in
coconut.
You got lots of nice presents, but mostly you cared
about the tissue paper. It was a great party and you wore yourself out. We
drove home late that night and you and Liam slept the whole way. Neither of you
like to sleep in the car so this was completely amazing. At home we carried you
both inside and tucked you into bed without even waking you up (again,
something that has never ever happened before).
I know you won’t remember you
first birthday but I always will. I love you baby girl. Don’t grow up too fast
ok. Take this next year a little slower?
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| Birthday dresses made for you by Grandma Patty (left) and Auntie Anne (right) |
Love always,
Mama
We are so blessed to have you, dear Vivian!
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