My Golden Girl

Happy Birthday Elyn! We are so blessed that we have known you for an entire year!

When we found out that we were having a second daughter, we were very excited. I knew, in my heart, that you would be a girl, but your daddy was holding out for a boy. I was excited that Nora would have a sister and I would get to use the tubs and tubs of clothes that I had in the attic.

We made the decision to not tell anyone about you being a girl. It frustrated some and made the guessing game fun for others. Whether we had told everyone you were a girl or not did not make the arrival of you any less exciting.

I was not overly ready for your arrival. When people would ask me if I was anxious for you to come, my response was generally, "Um...well, I'm okay with her (although, I said "the baby") staying inside for a while longer." Even though my feet were the size of a football and I couldn't sleep, my heartburn was impossible and zero clothes in my closet fit, I was still willing to hold out a few more weeks.

Why, you ask, would your mommy be so crazy? I didn't think I could handle two kids, and the longer I kept you in me, the longer I had to put off the scary.

You, my sweet baby girl, have made the transition from one to two almost painless. Don't get me wrong, you have not been perfect and I have a sneaking feeling that your toddlerhood is going to make me start drinking, but your first twelve months of life have been extremely joyous.

You are so much fun and you love to laugh. You are showing signs, already, that you have "smart potential". (Which will work in your favor considering the current economy...a scholarship is going to have to be the way to go when paying for college.) You are starting to talk some. The words that I recognize are: mama, look, book, nana (banana). You imitate all the time...you love to try and say words. I'm hopeful that your vocabulary is about to pick up.

You love to walk and climb and try to run. You love for me to hold you. You like to eat, but not everything. Some of your favorite foods are: mac and cheese, pancakes, chicken, green beans, peas, cheese, sandwich meat, bread, yogurt. You dislike: carrots, milk (I might have to start putting chocolate syrup in it), and that's about it. So, I guess you really love to eat.

You like for me to read you books and will sit on the floor and look through the books on your own. You don't like TV very much...yet. You love to dance and will do so by pumping your little legs up and down, pretty funny.

You are an OK sleeper. Your sister is a fabulous sleeper, so it seems unfair to compare you to her. You do sleep for 12 hours, but you don't sleep for 12 hours uninterrupted. You typically wake up 3-4 times a night and cry out. Being the mean mama that I am, I do not go in and comfort you. You are on your own kiddo. Good news is that you go back to sleep in about 30 seconds. I just wish that you could sleep deep. Your naps usually are not without some crying out either. Hey, you sleep in your own bed and you mostly sleep through the night. Quit complaining, right.

We love you so much Elyn! You truly bring us laughter and joy. I am excited to see what the next 365 days bring. You are a gift to us and we are so thankful to God that He has let us get to know you.

October 1, 2007

Sweet sisters

Happy mommy

3 months old...already full of smiles

6 months old...your funny facial expressions started early

9 months old...messy eater!

Elyn's birthday party...her "Golden Birthday". We celebrated Elyn's birthday at the park this Saturday and I will post pictures later this week all about her party. We called it her Golden Birthday because she turned one on the 1st. You can read more about Golden Birthday's here.