Gwyneth's First Birthday

 
Our little Gwinnie-girl is one! I know it's cliche, but I seriously feel like I blinked and suddenly it's the end of the year and the sweetest little baby turned one. Gwen radiates kindness and joy. She is easy going, she loves to eat, and she loves her sisters. Balls, books, and little people are her absolute favorites, but she won't say no to a stray crayon on the ground either... Her favorite song is the intro to That 70's Show. (Yes, really.) Oh, and she likes her mom and dad alright too.

She has learned to climb up the stairs, and is getting pretty good at it. She hasn't tried to come down, she'll just sit at the top of the stairs and yell until someone comes and gets her. So hopefully she doesn't get any ideas about that too soon. She climbs up on anything she can, she can cruise along furniture, but still hasn't tried to stand up by herself, let alone take steps. But she is a speed demon when it comes to crawling. 

The bathroom fascinates her, and we've all had to learn to close doors to the rooms we don't want her getting into. She is at that awesome stage where she loves to pull out everything she finds and stick it in her mouth. Her sisters are quickly learning that prized possessions need to be kept up high and out of reach. But they love her to death and are always trying to bring her toys and books that are more baby appropriate.

Gwen can say mama, dada, sister (she's only said this one a couple of times, but it refers to London and Juju), hi, bye, yup, and yay. Even though she doesn't know too many words yet, she is constantly chattering away to us. I love when babies start using inflection in their babble. They really are trying to tell you something, they just don't have the words yet. She points, she waves, she claps; the girl knows how to get her message across.

She switched to whole milk and the sippy cup this month, and eats basically anything you put in front of her. She eats three meals a day, sometimes with a snack in the after noon. She's still taking two naps a day (but they are getting shorter and every once in awhile she will just take one long one.) She was doing really awesome at night, but lately has been waking up once or twice. She goes right back down with a bottle or a binkie, and usually sleeps until 8 am, which in this house definitely counts as sleeping in. (Especially since Juliet wakes with the dawn!)

The word that pops into my head when I think of Gwinnie is joy. She is almost always happy, and she spreads it to everyone around her. Our home has been such a happy place since she joined, and just the thought of her makes me smile. We are so grateful for you, Gwinnie the Pooh! Happy Birthday!