"Whooo's Turning ONE?!?!?" ROSIE GRACE!!!! :-)

Hi friends & loved ones!!!

Just a warning... this is gonna be a LONG one! ;)

The past couple of weeks have been C-R-A-Z-Y!!!!!  What else is new?! ;-)  However, just to add to the madness... our sweet girl turned ONE on February 2nd!!!  I can't even begin to explain how bittersweet this huge milestone in Rosie's life has been for me.  On one hand, I was sooo excited to celebrate her birthday and I love everything about how she's growing and changing... but I am unbelievably sad that my BABY is less of a baby everyday... she's becoming her own little independent (and opinionated!) person.  I really can't believe that she's already a year old.  She's so beautiful (I know I'm a bit biased, but she really is!) and she has such a playful personality... loves to smile and laugh.  I could not be happier with her <3.

"Who's the pretty girl in the mirror???  ME!!!"

Sweet little grin <3

"Hi, Mommy!"

 Just some updates on Rosie... at her one year check up, she was 22 lbs 12 oz (75th percentile) and 30 inches long (80th percentile) - we have a GROWING girl!!!  She has tripled her weight and grown 11 inches in one year... hard to believe!  Our pediatrician, Dr. Chase (who we love!), said that she's the perfect picture of a healthy and happy growing girl... I'm so proud :)  She tolerated her shots (barely!)... did not appreciate them, but she survived ;).

Feelings are hurt and I'm MAD after mean shots! :(

  Rosie is doing all the "typical" things of a one year old... she's starting to walk, which is SO cute, but very nervewracking!  I live in fear that she's going to fall and crack her head open :(  She constantly says "hi" and waves to everyone... sooo cute.  She is eating more table foods now, although some foods have been a challenge and she's a messy girl who loves to play with her food rather than eat it sometimes.  Some of her favorite things to eat right now are:  bananas, toast, mini pancakes, cheese, applesauce, animal crackers, cheddar goldfish crackers, and green beans.  We are working on eating more veggies and some meats.  She is down to only one bottle a day (at night) and the rest of the time, she drinks milk/formula or water with very watered down apple juice from a sippy cup.  This is a huge achievement because she LOVES her bottles and was not at all interested in the sippy cup for the longest time... I must give credit to her wonderful sitter, Kathy, for working with her and helping her to achieve sippy cup success :)  She has a healthy appetite and wears 12-18 month clothes right now... just a little big for her age, but is starting to lose some "baby fat" because she is constantly on the move and NEVER sits still!  I love all her chubs and don't want her to lose them! :(  Right now, some of her favorite toys are baby dolls (she loves to "rock" them and pat their backs), books (looking and pointing), and Little People toys... she loves those!  She loves bathtime and her face lights up whenever she sees Daddy at the end of the day... Mommy just can't compare ;)  She says Mama (mostly when in distress or when she's tired!), Dada, hi, bye-bye, and baba (bottle)... and lots of other things that we just can't understand yet!  This little girl is the JOY of my life! <3

So, back to the birthday... Rosie's actual birthday fell on a Thursday and I took the day off of work to spend the whole day with her.  Even though she didn't understand that it was her birthday, I just couldn't bear the thought of being away from her on such a special day... so a "vacation day" it was!  We stayed at home in the morning... ate breakfast, played and took a nap (I showered while she napped!).  After a quick snack, we drove over to Mimi's (my mom's) school to visit for a few minutes.  She was SO excited to see the Birthday Girl :)  Then we headed to Lexington to see Daddy at work and to grab some late lunch.  We drove over to the mall and had lunch at Abuelo's (a yummy Mexican restaurant).  Rosie snacked on goldfish crackers and played in the highchair while Mommy & Daddy ate... she was so patient and good!

A

 Then... we headed over to the Build-A-Bear store!!!!  Yes, Rosie got her first expensive and personalized teddy... it was worth every penny to see her look at all the bears and "pick" the one she wanted.  Her bear was stuffed, sewn up, "bathed" (with air!), and dressed in a cute pink outfit.  She was given the name Honey Bear Landers and is Rosie's BFF right now!

So many to choose from!

Love my bear!

"Bathing" the bear with Daddy ;)

Sweet face <3

Mommy, Daddy, Rosie & Honey Bear!

 It was truly a fun experience for all of us... can't wait to do it again when she gets older.  By this time, Rosie was worn out... so we headed back home so she could take a nap in the car.  Later on in the evening, after Daddy came home from work, the real celebrating began!  We ate some dinner and gave Rosie her first cupcake!  Mimi and Pappy came over to bring Rosie a few presents and to watch her eat her cake.  She was so funny and wasn't sure what to think about all the sweet icing... but she played and had a great time.  After the mess was cleaned up, she opened a few gifts... Mommy & Daddy gave her a Radio Flyer wagon, a playmat, some pretty pictures for her playroom, and a few other things.  It was a wonderful day!

"Reading" her card... so smart! ;)

Whewww... I'm tired again just from typing all of that out! ;)  And I haven't even gotten to her "official" first birthday party yet!  Gonna have to save that for the next post.  More on my sweet girl later... she's waking up from her nap!

Love,
Chandra :)