happy 1st birthday!

dear daley,

i am amazed at how much you have brought into our lives. on the day you were born, my heart expanded with so much love, more than i ever could have imagined. i am so lucky to have had the chance to share so many of your firsts, especially this first year of your life.

there are so many things i try to remember each day, like the way you scrunch your face, kick your legs (they are constantly moving, even in utero), snuggle with your lovey and bink, the smile you give your brother when he walks into the room. i know that these little things might not always be a part of who you are, but they are right now and they shape who you are at this very moment-they have a little part of my heart.

happy first birthday to my little one! i love you to the moon and back...

love,
mama






we had a little cake after dinner tonight, and daley was less than impressed by it!? in fact, she preferred the hat that took me an hour to make her in lieu of the cupcake! needless to say it was fun to celebrate, i know jack was certainly excited to eat a cupcake:)

daley's first christmas!

it is so hard to believe that daley wasn't here for our last christmas, she's become such an integral part of our family i can't imagine our life without her. it is also hard to believe that i was nine months pregnant with her this time last year, but its probably because i've blocked that part out!?

i know daley didn't understand what was going on, but she certainly had a good time:) she really is such an easy going, content baby. she had so much fun getting into all the presents and with all the wrapping paper flying she didn't even know where to begin...you know because doesn't everyone eat the paper?

i took a lot of pictures of daley because there is nothing cuter than a little girl in a fluffy dress!

christmas eve:

look who's "so big?!"

she pulls kermit off of the tree constantly, and the she tries to put kermit back on the tree,
but can't figure out how-it's so funny.

christmas morning:

the most awesome christmas present...my brother greg hand-made this doll house bookcase! i had been eying the one in pottery barn. it was a total surprise and it looks amazing!

daley likes it too!

rockin' out on jack's new keyboard...she is hilarious and loves to dance!

all ready for church

santa?

that's pretty much the reaction daley gave santa today when we went to visit him?! she just kept staring at him, but didn't seem the least bit put off by the fact that she had been placed in some strange bearded man's lap!

poor girl looks a bit worse for wear in these pics...the second "eye" tooth is making its way in and wreaking havoc on her naps:( jack on the other hand was so excited to see santa, and told him exactly what he wanted-a kitchen, and a car (big surprise there!). the picture we ended up choosing actually came out really nice. unfortunately it isn't a digital file, so you're stuck with my shots!

denial...

that is what i am in over the fact that daley will be one years old in 15 days *sniff*. it really is hard to imagine, and i'm of the mindset that if i don't say it out loud, it can't possibly be true!

i guess i've begun to notice little things that indicate she is growing and developing. for instance, she can now hold and drink her own sippy cup, her head is getting closer to the top of back of her high chair and she no longer looks like she is being swallowed up in it, and just today she began to push the wooden push cart and "walk" with it. *sigh*

not to mention she has quite the flair for the dramatic, which can be seen in the pictures below!?

this smile is so ugly, it's cute!

we were playing chase/peek-a-boo...she's feeling her new top teeth with her tongue here:)

geez, life must be so rough?!

she's pretty good about the tree, but every once in a while...

"mom, pick me up now!"
*disclaimer: she was not in any pain or distress, she just wanted me to pick her up.

"daley, no!?"

no, no, no...which is usually followed by her shaking her head at me, smiling and scooting away from me! there have been a few occasions where i've startled her enough that she's started to cry--oops, not my intention and actually doesn't prevent her from stopping what she was doing:/ the aforementioned situation occurred this evening when i turned around to find this...


this picture was taken at the end of our tree hunt...daley had woken up and she was not in the mood to smile!?


she really is so cute these days. i have to get some video of her "dancing" because it is so cute...she loves to dance and bop up and down to music. she has also become a little chatterbox...babbling constantly. now if only these teeth would get here and she can get back to her normal sleep schedule-i'm tired! that being said, when they do get here i will be amazed to see all of the different things she will eat. i have yet to find something she really doesn't like. just tonight she had pesto tortellini and tuscan pumpkin soup and loved it!