Happy Birthday Iyla Grace!

Sweet Iyla Grace, one year ago today you gave your Papa and I the surprise of our lives by making an early arrival. What an incredibly magical day that was! You have always been such an independent spirit- from choosing just how and when you would begin your journey (making us wait almost 3 years!) to choosing your own birth date and exactly how you'd be born (we were scheduled for a November 20th c-section but you had other plans). I love that about you. You light up our lives every.single.day and I am ever so grateful you choose us to help guide you in your journey here!

Here are your ONE YEAR updates...

How old? One year old today!

How big? We have your official one year appointment Friday- so I will again defer to comparisons with Sam:

Sleep? The first half of this month you were regularly waking 1x/night again- but now you are in a fantastic stride where *typically* you go down around 7:30 and sleep through until 7am or so. You also are taking two 1.5 hour naps daily, and go down sweetly and easily for those (usually around 10am and again around 2:30).

Teeth? Still absolutely NONE! And no hints of any on the horizon either.

Food? You are a great little eater. Your favorite things right now are scrambled eggs, chicken, broccoli, and your little yogurt creamy snacks. Having you eat a good dinner is definitely coordinated with your sleeping through the night these days! You also had your 1st Chinese food at Mimi and Grampy's and LOVED it. You are still nursing 4-5x/day- usually when you wake, before naps, & in the late afternoon.

Potty Time? You go pretty much every morning (usually both #1 and #2) and then again after naps.

Milestones? 

*You are crawling faster & with much more intent now!

*You can climb stairs. Quite quickly!

*You are standing on your own more often- and usually break that skill out when in front of new people.

*You seem to be imitating more sounds & words! I swear I've heard you say quack, kitty, icky, teeth, and many other one time wonders. I'll hear it and THINK you said it, then not hear it again for awhile.

*You can blow air, and are learning to blow kisses!

*You 'ask' to have things put in your hair. You'll grab a little barrette or bow or headband and hold it to your head, then hand it to me. Once in place you smile at yourself adoringly in the mirror! It's hilarious.

Likes/Dislikes:

Current loves:

*Entertaining yourself in the mirror

*Bike rides with Papa! You had your first ride over the weekend and it was a huge success.

*Watching the outdoor kitties

*Your books!

Dislikes:

*Holding still for diaper & clothes changes

*Being diverted from something you want

*Having foreign objects removed from your mouth

Postpartum Body?

I am back up to my pre-pregnancy weight! Also still struggling a lot with my Mommy Thumb, and thinking of getting another steroid shot to help.

Most looking forward to? Spending the holidays with you!

You've had 3 birthday celebrations so far! First with family in Houston:

Then a party here in Austin, where you did us proud smashing & eating your 1st cupcake!

Your photo collage, thanks to all the amazing photos your Grampy printed for us (I have almost no printed photos of you- they are pretty much all still sitting on my computer!)

I LOVE this series of photos your Papa took of us at your party:

The cupcake smash!

And now your actual birthday! I had so much fun taking your photos…. and discovered iPhoto's editing technology, which felt almost professional to use! I think I have a new obsession- as if I needed another excuse to take a gazillion photos of you. :)

Iyla Grace, you are such a sweet, loving, creative, joyful little girl- and we wish you many, many, MANY more years of happiness ahead!