Happy 1st Birthday, Sara Beth!

     Wow! I really can't believe how fast this first year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday that we were holding Sara Beth in our arms for the first time and now she is one. I was never really sure that I would be a good mother. I mean, I loved kids and worked well with little ones, but babies just never were my thing. Then God allowed me the privilege to be Sara Beth's mama and every day has been amazing since then!
     I am in awe of how a woman's body works so perfectly for her baby. She grows that baby inside of her belly for 9 months (or longer in my case), its only nourishment coming from her body. Then, after being born, that baby still gets exactly what it needs from mama's body. It has been such an honor to be able to breastfeed Sara Beth for this year. For the first 6.5 months of her life, all she had was my milk and still she grew strong and beautiful. I know that nursing is not possible for every mother, but I am so glad that God allowed it to work out for us!
     Sara Beth has grown into such a precious little girl. She's smart, funny, and cute, cute, cute! At her 12 month check-up with Dr. Ritch she weighed 19 pounds, 13 ounces and was 30 inches long. That puts her in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Everything else looked good too. We are blessed beyond measure!
At one year old, Sara Beth:

• still loves books. Among her favorites right now are The Belly Button Book, Mr. Brown Can Moo, and any book with fuzzy parts to rub or real photographs.
• can identify her head, eyes, nose, hair, feet, and her favorite of all. . . her bebo (that's a belly button in case you didn't know).
• is officially walking now! She can also stand independently for a long time and even clap, pick up a ball, and sway from side to side while standing up.
• has lots of new words to use: yay, no, bowl, thank you, whoa, berry, cracker, cheese, more, Papaw, Nana/Nonni (sometimes), uh oh, bebo, and she is working on Opa and diaper. She can say each separate syllable, but when she tries to put it together it becomes baba.
• can tell you the sound that each of these animals makes: dog, cat, elephant, and duck.
• finally has 2 top teeth to help her chew. They are spread far apart (a trait that I passed along), but they get the job done. We try to remember to brush them every day. She even got a toothbrush and toothpaste in her Easter basket.
• eats everything! She's not a huge fan of beef or baked goods (cake, pancakes, waffles), but I'm sure that will change. She loves to take a bite off of a bigger piece of food. I think it makes her feel like a big girl. We introduced strawberries this month and she loves them!
• has a head full of hair. She never did go completely bald, but she has a lot of hair now. You can barely tell that we gave her a haircut last month.
• has a fairly regular schedule, but all that will change when we start weaning this week. Right now she sleeps 11 hours at night (8pm-7am), takes 2 naps most days, and nurses 4 times along with eating solid food at the table with us.
• had a wonderful birthday party last weekend! More to come about the party. . .
  
  

  

  Celebrating Daddy's birthday on April 5



Park fun



Smelling the flowers with Nana on Easter Sunday



Loving on Nonni at her first birthday party



At Tristen's party, making the elephant noise