Her true loves.

Yesterday, the little one got to enjoy lunch with her Dada in his classroom. Eugene’s been working crazy hours between coaching two teams and teaching. Since all that translates into less time he gets to be with the little one, I thought we’d stop by his school during the lunch break. I think it made his day, her day, and mine too.

Later that evening, she got some cuddle time with her other true love – her puppy. These two have a very special bond. These twelve cell photos show the progression of her affection, and let’s be honest, he loves every bit of it.

And my personal favorite…

This girl loves her Dada, and she loves her pup. And I love all three.

Eleven months.

The little one’s just a month away from being a one-year-old! Crazy, I tell you.

It’s just incredible to look back to just a month ago and see how much she has changed. She now has two more teeth, walks on her own, and knows so much more. She can make/imitate faces, make the sound for a monkey & a dog. laugh socially {when everyone else laughs, so does she}, climb steps {and sit on the dishwasher door}, blow kisses, give hugs, and come on command. Oh, and she has started throwing tantrums when she doesn’t get her way…already. I know I’m biased, but I think she’s a smarty pants, and it’s been awesome to watch her mind develop.

She’s super curious – opening every door, drawer, and pocket she can find.

And the girl loves being outside, especially at daddy’s baseball team’s games.

She’ll get on her tippy toes when she’s excited or intrigued…

My niece gave the little one her amber teething necklace to wear for a while. It’s that sweet of her to share? It’s supposed to help calm them and sooth the pain from teething. {Fingers crossed that it helps.}

And she loves her pup. “Dog” is the third word she said, and it’s without a doubt her most used word. It sounds a little more like “Dah” but she says it every time she sees him, and she’ll bark back to him in this little high-pitched sound. {Adorable.}

I’d say about 50% of the time he loves her too, the other 50% he just tolerates her. ;)

Between the teething and her nasty cold this month, it’s been one of the more rough months, if I’m being honest. She’s been grumpy and not napping well. She’s getting independent, and she gets frustrated that she can’t do things on her own {like climb on a chair to sit on it or tell me that she wants down instead of up.} But with the challenges, it’s been awesome seeing the giant leaps she’s made this month with the walking and comprehending more.

Some of the ladies at church say that her hair is like a baby duckling. I pretty much agree. Love that fluff…

She has been such a sweet blessing to us the past 11 months.

On completely superficial note to end the post, I love the little baby girl rompers…seriously cuteness overload!

Puppy love.

The little one squeals with glee every time she sees the pup. She loves loves loves her puppy. When I ask her where the pup is, she looks right at him and beams a huge smile. She’s now scooting/crawling, and when she sees him on the other side of the room she bolts straight to him. Luckily, he likes her too.

Lately, she’s fascinated with his fluffy tail. She scoots to him, grabs his tail hair in her hand and just shakes it like a jump rope. The pup is so good with her; he lets her pull his tail for hours, even when he’s eating! I guess it’s a trade off for him. Now that she’s eating some finger food, he gets quite a bit more snacks. She feeds him purposely and she doesn’t quite have great aim when feeding herself, so inevitably the food ends up falling on the floor. He didn’t realize one was on his head here, but she thought it was pretty funny…

She also found it funny to have the bottle cap on her head as a hat…

And she’s all about pointing now. She loves to point to peoples pictures hanging on the refrigerator or wall. She especially likes to touch index fingers with people. I don’t know why, but it melts my heart when she does it…

She’s learned a few words in sign language. She signs “all done,” waves hi, and her first real sign/word she learned was: LIGHT. {I can’t help but to find this as a little wondrous thing. My girl already knows the Light. I pray she knows Him all her life.} When I ask her where the light is, she points up and then does the sign…

It’s crazy how much she’s developed just in the last couple weeks. I love my bright girl {pun intended.}

Christmas gatherings.

This Christmas was a rough for the one. She ran a temperature of over 102 at one point on Christmas day, and she just wasn’t herself – throwing up, tired, crying lots, not taking her bottle, clingy, just generally unhappy. I thought for a while that she was just teething {no teeth yet}, but the day after Christmas, it became clear that she was suffering from more than just teething. Her pediatrician said it’s just a virus, so we’re still riding it out. {Prayers appreciated for a quick recovery.} We caught a few glimpses of my happy little girl over the holiday, but for the most part we saw a lot of this…

We have big families, and local families, which translates into many Christmas gatherings. The first was my mom’s family….

This was the weekend before Christmas, so the little one was still feeling decent…

My sister made gifts for my uncle & cousin that were toy car back rub shirts for their three little boys. Super cute…

Next up was the annual Christmas Eve breakfast at Eugene’s family’s house. I am so blessed to be a part of his family. Love these guys. {So much.}

Ahh, baby jeans & ruffle socks. :)

 

We opened gifts from the siblings on Christmas Eve. I received an amazing gift from Eugene’s sister: a calendar with scripture and my photos on every page. {Brought me to tears.}

She was so cute opening her gifts…

And even cuter napping in her “first Christmas” shirt…

Later that evening, we had our candle light Christmas Eve service at church. There’s something pretty incredible about a church full of individuals holding burning candles, lights dimmed, and everyone singing acapella “O Holy Night.” {He is truly light in a very dark world.}

Here’s our annual Christmas Eve family photo. The dog’s in it; he just wasn’t super cooperative…

And of course, the cousins had to pose in their pretty dresses…

After Christmas Eve service, my family came over, and my dad read Twas the Night Before Christmas and we opened our annual pajama gift from “Santa’s Elves” {aka my mom.}

She’s such an awesome present…

Christmas morning, we sang happy birthday to Jesus and read Luke 2.

Opened stockings…

Opened gifts. This year, I did four gifts: something she wants, something she needs, something to wear, and something to read. {Saw the idea online.} I liked the structure of it because it kept me from going overboard and also missing the purpose of Christmas.

The pup was pumped for his stocking loot…

Once we finished our Christmas morning, we headed to my parents’ place. Can you spot the spoiled loved grandkids? ;)

From my parents, we headed to Eugene’s grandparents’ and from there to Eugene’s parents’. By that time, the little one was in full-fledge fever mode. Poor thing was stripped to her diaper to cool her off, but she still managed to {kind of} enjoy opening her gifts…

We were blessed with so many wonderful, generous gifts…

But this is by far, my favorite gift this year: my family.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 {GOD WITH US!}