Happy Birthday dear Amelia! You are one today!! We celebrated your birthday on Saturday so that family could join us. Your party was attended by those who love you dearly: your Grandma and Grandpa Andreasens and Strickers, Uncle Cash, Uncle Todd, Aunt Jody and Jace, Uncle Jim, Aunt Tamera, Trevor, Jarred, Joel and Trey and the entire Brox family (Tim, Melissa, Jonah, Sam, Levi, Ellen, Isaac and Annie), and of course your siblings and mommy and daddy. You won't remember your 1st birthday, but it was fun to celebrate this milestone and watch you eat your sweet cake and sing to you and let you open birthday presents. It was your day.
At one year, you're sporting eight teeth in your mouth! You weigh a little over 20 lbs. You wear a size 18 month clothing and a size 4 shoe. You've taken two, maybe three steps, but you much prefer to crawl on two knees and sometimes on one foot and one knee like Jon used to, cruise or since Saturday, "walk" on your knees. You're sleeping pretty well. I really can't complain much. You go to be well, sleep for about 6 hours or so, wake up briefly to nurse and then back to bed for another 4-5 hours. Sometimes you're still waking up several times in the night. You are a happy baby, full of smiles that produce the most scrumptious dimples. You sing and talk a little too. "Da da, Mama, gog" (for dog). You wave good bye and sometimes hello. You put the phone up to your ear and point the remote at the TV. You drink raw milk from a sippy cup and eat pretty much whatever we're eating with the occasional exceptions. You give the best hugs, now with an added little pat on the back or arm, and are starting to add the gentle, loving head butt and occasional kiss. You still love to bounce, and do so quite energetically in your crib while you're laughing at your siblings. You're a tease too. Pretending to want to jump into someone else's arms only to recant and hide your head in my shoulder when they reach for you. You've learned to go down stairs and crawl off the bed or couch the right way. Knock on wood, we haven't had any of those nasty accidents as you're learning. You're even starting to climb up and over things! You still hate to have something pulled on over your head. You are very bright and seem to learn things quickly. You're a copy cat and can make noises that mimic what you hear and can imitate actions that you see. You are truly a joy!!
You enjoyed your little cake at your party. It was banana with whipped topping and some sprinkles. You gingerly picked off the sprinkles and then eventually became a little more aggressive and dug into the topping and finally to the cake. When you were done, the remainder went to the floor--several times. Uncle Cash tried to pick it up and hand it back to you but you insisted that you were done. You sat and played with your new toys and excitedly tried out your new pacifiers back and forth, back and forth, one in each hand until you settled on one for the moment.
It has been such a joy to watch you grow over the last 12 months. You've reached new milestones, developed your own little personality and tastes, and filled our hearts with so much happiness. You are a true blessing Amelia Therese and we love you so much!
