Happy Birthday, Eliza Mae!!

Eliza turned one!! Here she is, sleepy-eyed and all, first thing on the morn of her very first birthday. The girls were so excited to sing to her, they even cooperated (mostly) for this little photo!

When I told Grace, on Thursday, that the next day was Eliza's birthday she asked, "what’s she gonna get?"--and i swear to you that it was in that very moment that it first occurred to me that i should maybe get a little present for my child's very first birthday!!! Had it not been for Grace I never would have swung by that garage sale on Friday morning and picked up those building blocks that my sweet Eliza can not get enough of!! (I know, i’m a big spender, it’s a bit of a problem in our marriage) Thanks, Gracie, for being my brain so much of the time!!

We celebrated her big day on Saturday with her little friend, Kalia who just turned one a couple weeks earlier.

I made a Deceptively Delicious little brownie cake. I'm telling you, it was really, really good!! I'm sure the recipe is out there somewhere on the web, and i don't feel like getting my book out, so i'm just gonna say this- about 4 cups of fresh spinach, 2 cups of carrots, 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa, oat flour, etc=total awesomeness!!! We all loved it, and this is the kind of cake i could handle letting Eliza devour...which she did.

I don't know if I should say she devoured the cake or she slurped the cake. She didn't shove big fistfuls into her mouth like i'd expected. Rather she held the whole piece up and just kinda sucked on it until there was nothing left but the mushed up brownie between her fingers. She was giggling the whole time. It was the cutest thing. We didn’t really do presents, just the blocks. It was all very low-key. But there was something extremely unique about this birthday. Something that sets it apart from all previous 1st birthdays in this home. And that is that i am not pregnant with the next one!!! happy unbirthingday to meeeee!! :)

Now, what can I say about Eliza that i won’t have to go back and delete years down the road when she learns how to read…I’m kidding! mostly

She really is a happy baby. As long as all of her needs are met. I guess all babies are like that, the difference is in the amount of needs???

She loves clothes. She'll play with a pair of socks and a shirt for hours. For Christmas I think Santa might just bring up the laundry basket, heaping with clean cotton knits—all for her to play in :) (let’s not pretend that’s not something i’d totally do, btw)

She loves to be naked. she’d rather hold her shirt all day than wear it for even an hour.

She has learned one little sign-"please"--which is preformed by violently whacking her mouth over and over (I think she got confused with the "thank you" and we just went with it)

She says "nigh-nigh", "amen" and "da-da" and that’s it. But boy, does she ham it up with those three. She just loves to wait as long as she can after the prayer to say amen and still get a reaction from us. Such a nut.

She's happiest when it's just me, Reid and her sisters here at home with her. As soon as anyone else enters the scene, all confidence in life is lost, and she's pretty much miserable. (imagine how well it goes when that someone is our babysitter!)

She is crying less and less each day. It's hard to see sometimes, but I know it's true. She's getting much better at entertaining herself, and doesn't have to be in the exact same room as me every second of the day.

She's down to one nap a day, for the most part. And i LOVE it! 3 1/2 hours in one big chunk is far better than two 2 hour naps!!

She gives really big, wet kisses. And only to me. And i love them.

She loves to sing--really, really loudly. I don't know that anyone else hearing it would call it singing. But it is. She does it every time I sing. and it's lovely :)

She giggles every time she toots. i kid you not. And so now we all giggle when she toots. And i don’t see it ever stopping :)

She can scream at the exact same decibel and pitch as our home alarm system. I can't tell you how many times i've gone to turn off the alarm, only to find half way there that it was just my sweet child. She screams if you take anything away from her (can't blame her, right?), if you get too close to her, if you leave her in her booster chair for more than 3 seconds without food in front of her, and, of course, if I walk away and there's a stranger ANYWHERE in sight.

She loves food. She'll eat anything you offer her. And she eats endless amounts of it. She really does love all foods! It's so nice, when my older children turn their noses up at some of my crazy concoctions, to always know that at least one of my children will completely devour it, regardless of it's flavor or components :) Some of her faves are: steamed broccoli (it really is!!), blueberries, mini-sweet peppers (Reid gave her a whole one and she chewed it all without choking!!!), spaghetti, any fruit, and water in her straw cup. She is in love with her straw cup.

She's still just crawling. Not really scooting along furniture yet, but she does let go of my hands and stand by herself--and laughs.

She laughs at herself a lot. She sincerely thinks she's really funny. She gets that from me.

She’s my easiest child to shop with. She’s so friendly to everyone she sees. But sometimes, when they think they’ve been “invited” into her little comfort zone, she lays it on them—that alarm-system scream. It’s quite embarrassing. Some of you may have heard me saying “it’s not you, she does that to anyone that’s not me” to total strangers, on the verge of tears.

She loves to be outside. That is the one place where she’ll hang out all by herself for a bit. She loves her swing. Or she chills on the deck, eating leaves and sticks and old rain water in the little car, while Abby and Grace run around the yard playing Princesses and Bad Guys. I’ve thought before that the only way it could be any better would be if Eliza could come in and out as she pleases, without having to scream to get back in. And just today a little friend of ours ran through our screen door (luckily he’s fine!!), serendipitously creating a “doggy-door” of our screen!! This kept her happy for a whole hour while i made dinner! Her sisters had to try it, too :)

Eliza Mae, this has been the hardest year for me as a mom, hands down. I think that three kids will do that to just about anyone. But to top it off, you’ve been my hardest baby, hands down. And the combination has felt like enough to do me in--on many occasions. This birthday of yours is the first time i've celebrated a baby's b-day without asking myself "where has this year gone!?!" This year has not flown by. It's slowed down. But that’s not entirely a bad thing, at all. It's been so full of such sweet moments in this little home, and for those-- i'd stop the clock. I can really truly say now that i'm glad you came into our family when you did. Your friendships with your sisters are already forming. And all my fears about "three girls so close in age never being able to get along" and "one always feeling left out" are slowly calming. I think with just the right mix of personalities that three girls really can be best friends. And i think we just might have that mix. Thank you for being exactly the way you are :)

I love you, Eliza Mae!!