ONE YEARS OLD

Our darling Marley is finally ONE year old. The first year is always the hardest in my opinion. It is full of sleepless nights, lots of mental breakdowns asking yourself how you are surviving (especially working full time!), and so many others, but I don't want to complain. The first birthday is always bittersweet, excited to be past the really hard newborn stage, but also sad to realize the years just go by so fast! Marley has been the sweet safe haven that I didn't realize I needed. When I had Noah, I thought to have all boys was ideal and all I wanted. When Travis announced that our baby was a girl in the delivery room, I couldn't keep back the tears. It was such a spiritual and amazing experience to feel my little girl being placed into my arms for the first time. Marley is so sweet. So incredibly independent, but sweet. Since Marley isn't talking yet, i'll start listing our favorite things around Marley:

Marley at one-year-old: 

-loves to play with her brother

-loves to drink her bottles of milk

-if you make a growling noise, she will growl back at you even if you didn't intend to. The other night I sighed out of frustration and he growled thinking I was playing. Put a smile on my frustrated face.

-loves to take a bath

-HATES to get her diaper changed or dressed. Wiggles and wiggles until we have to pin her down. Never experienced this with Noah. It can be extremely frustrating.

-loves to chew on everything

-loves to open up cabinets and take everything out

-loves to eat; avocados and berries are her favorite

-loves to giggle and laugh. We will just be in silence while I make dinner sometimes and I will just hear her giggle as she is playing with toys -- it is so sweet.

-loves to get into the stroller and go on long walks

-doesn't love her car seat, but does well. She can't be in there for long periods of time before she starts to cry.

-wants to play with anything that Noah is playing with.

-loves to put her fingers in anyone's mouth. She thinks it is hilarious.

-she is walking!! she refuses to crawl and walks everywhere now.

-loves to crawl upstairs and doesn't quite know how to go down from them yet.

-if you are eating around her, she wants whatever you are eating NOW.

-hates being thrown up in the air. It scares her.

-her aunt Abbie can always get her laughing so hard!

We love our Marley Elizabeth. Her temperament is so calm and sweet. Can't wait to see her develop in the next year. We had a combined birthday party with Noah and her aunt Abbie made her a beautiful pink smash cake. She didn't even try to eat the cake -- it wasn't her thing. Happy Birthday to my sweet girl.

1 year checkup: weight 19 lbs (13%), 30.1 (72%), head 17.5 (26%)