Happy First Birthday Audrey

Audrey,

My first and potentially only child, happy first birthday! Birthdays are fun! I grew up anxiously anticipating them all, and even at 25 I couldn't get enough of them. You are fun, fun to have as a daughter. Every day is sweeter with you in it, Your dad and I wake up, and are able to get ready while you sleep. We come into your room and wake you up and you are full of claps, smiles, and hugs, you then put your arms up in the air prayerfully hoping we will pick you up. Recently, we have found you standing in your crib inside of your zip a Dee zip or even playing with your Goliath (stuffed lion) or your Audrey Bear, the bear we made for you on our two year wedding anniversary.

You have slept through the night since about 10 weeks of age, and in your crib in your room since two. Your father and I can count on less than our fingers and toes on the times you've interrupted our sleep during the night and about 10 of them you were sick or having a "wonder week episode"

I can count more things you can do than things you can't. You can walk, very well unassisted, you started at 10 months and perfected it around 11, say simple words ; mama, dog, cat, dada, and hi. You love to wave goodbye, climb the stairs, clap your hands, dance a lot, and if I sing your favorite song (how deep the fathers love for us- the song I sang to you when I was pregnant to get you to move around...) you sing and coo with me.

You are independent, you don't take guidance away from your game plan well. You are relentlessly strong my child, you have a knack for trying anything once, twice if you like it. You look under the couch for toys you've lost, from behind cellphones to watch funny videos, behind curtains and closet doors. You try to climb into the bathtub and as active as this seems you're very well behaved. Your teachers rave about how sweet you are and how they wish you could train other babies to be like you. From the childcare at church or Anyone else who has ever watched or held you for any amount of time raves about how well rested you must be for how your mannerisms show them you behave. You don't touch ovens, open cabinets, or touch the Christmas tree. You do help load the dryer and are very efficient when you do.

You make it very obvious when you have gone potty in your diaper, so you may be easy to potty train. Bath time is your favorite, you have a mermaid bathroom and you may be one for how much you don't mind water on your face. You love being tickled, laughing, playing peek a boo, and cuddling when you want to.

You don't watch television often, we record Sophia the first, Daniel Tiger, and Bubble Guppies for you and if we have to get A LOT of things done like cooking dinner and doing laundry at the same time. Sunday mornings before football sometimes we pick a different Disney princess movie for you to watch, the three you especially loved this year we're Sleeping Beauty, Tinkerbell, and The Princess and the Frog. You met Minnie at Disneyland when you were only 4 months old. You were perfectly behaved for such a young baby.

Your favorite toys; your play kitchen accessories. You haven't learned quite yet that your pots and pans sit on the imaginary stove with fake food to present a meal, so it's cute, you'd rather play with the bowls, pots, pans, and cups. You have baby versions of most of my cooking spoons and spatulas and you play with those well.

Tea sets- you could drink fake cups of tea every day until the sun went down, it's adorable to see you play with your tea set from your bing cousin Rylee

Baby dolls, you call them Bebe and you don't have a preference, brown, white, soft, plastic, all babies are your favorite, unless mama is cuddling them, then you're jealous.

You loved books for the first 9 months of your life, you became very active and mama got very lazy so in fear of them being ruined we put a lot of them up but of what I documented, we read 61 books this year. Average, that's at least one a week so I'm proud of us. Just 939 more before kindergarten!

You have many baby acquaintances you've played with once or twice, you only have one true best friend, his name is Joey and his mom works at Zappos with me. Your teachers tell me you two are like twins, inseparable at school, they ask if you see each other often outside of school because you two are always together. I'm so thankful you have someone who brings you joy while your dad and I are at work, that's something that makes us parents happy. Knowing you're happy. You also took your first girls trip, vacation with a friend with your friend Paislee this year at her grandparents cabin, you were barely 7 months old and loved every bit of Duck Creek, Utah. You'll spend many holidays with your friend Skyler, His mom and I met before you were born after his sister was born, in a mom's group. Skyler may be a forever friend for you and this also makes me very happy.

You don't like when kids are very anxious around you, actually, hyper kids stress you out. You like analyzing the situation and then hanging out with friends when you become comfortable, there should be more adults with this trait. Maybe you'll teach them?

You put everything in your mouth and prefer your fingers to teething toys, but you don't mind those. We spent entirely too much on wubbanub beanie baby pacifiers and you were never too attached to any of them.

You have a small temper. That's to be expected. You are my daughter and I have a big temper. You roll your eyes, give hard looks, sometimes you squint them at us, you have balled up your fists, shaken your body, and whined when told no... but those moments are few and far between and I appreciate your understanding of who the adult is and how you are our child.

You LOVE to eat. Mangos, spaghetti, blueberries, bananas, spinach, chicken, kale, chow mein, grilled vegetables, mixed vegetables, peas, all types of beans, cornbread, rice... bread, oh, and pancakes! You're a very good eater and I pray it stays that way, if it's not water or soy/coconut milk, you don't get to drink it . Actually, you only get a small amount of juice with water when we need you to poop. You could drink out of a regular cup very young, and you only take 3 bottles a day so we've almost weaned you off of that as well. I breastfed until 8.5 months and then you had your lip tie revision. You then began to drink Baby's Only Soy formula, it was $10.00 a can and at 11.5 months we weaned you off onto milk.

You love going on walks, your dad let's you go geocaching with him, so you come home with crumbled leaves and pine cones often. You like being outside and your stroller is your friend as long as its moving. You like shopping, your dad gives you "options" and you love touching new fabrics or shiny pants, you love all clothes and especially things with tulle or sparkles on them.

You drool a lot, have your whole life, not sure when it will stop but your dad drooled past two, so? Maybe you'll wear bibs every day until you're potty trained, maybe you won't. Your in has become your signature, it's pretty cute. Messy, but cute.

I hope you continue to have as much grace in everything you do for the rest of your life because you’re cautious, but a risk taker... and I wish I could be more like you.

You love people; Family, friends, anyone who will entertain you. Your mom's a people person too... Your dad is more cautious than I will ever be but this trait is one I love you got from me. You'll smile and be held by anyone and the reason why that's good is because babies make people happy. You have made a difference in someones day at your young age, and that's something to be proud of.