A Year with Kaelyn

Happy birthday, Kaelyn! It is so hard to sum up the joy that Kaelyn brings into our lives. She is a wonderful addition to our family and a really good first child for Jared. ;-) Her one-year appointment and party is tomorrow, but let us take a trip through the last twelve months. There may or may not be way too many pictures. We'll see.

A few days after her birth.

Kaelyn in her unsightly disposable cloth diaper.

One of my favorite pictures of her first month! So sweet and asleep.

We blessed Kaelyn on our last Sunday in Oregon at 3 weeks old.

Two months and one of my favorite outfits!

Three months. Back when Kaelyn was smaller than Lara.

The first picture I got of Kaelyn sucking her fingers while awake.

Four months with one of her first cloth diapers on!!

Five months and Kaelyn can roll over. She never was much of a roller. I would never find her across the room due to rolling despite many warnings of "just you wait".

Five months was also when Kaelyn started being interested in water bottles and foods although we didn't feed her until six months.

We discovered Kaelyn's love of chocolate a little bit prior to her sixth birthday. She had excellent accuracy when grabbing my hand that was holding that cookie... and yes, she really does love chocolate. And really, anything sweet.

The "official" six month picture. She wouldn't smile on her own so I really don't have a good picture.

We also started giving her baths. In her own tub.

There was a brief portion of time around seven months when Kaelyn would lay around like this.

At eight months, we tried a new bed style. I really love the cradle hammock. I can't wait to use it with my second child.

Kaelyn was crawling at nine months so we got a play yard.

We started folding Kaelyn's arms when she was 3 or 4 months. At 10 months, she voluntarily folds her arms. Sometimes. And not for the whole prayer.

She also learned that she can crawl up the stairs at 10 months.

At 11 months, Kaelyn showed us that she knows what cell phones are for. "Hi! Hi! Hi!"

And she let us know that she wasn't interested in sleeping in her own bed anymore.

A few weeks ago, Kaelyn showed us that she can blow her nose too.

That brings us to today. She wore a dress that we're borrowing from Aunt Valerie. It has snowflakes on it which was very appropriate for the snowfall of today.

I tried to take some pictures...

Kaelyn walks with assistance. She is mastering her balance and can walk while only holding onto one of my hands. She has taken a few steps on her own but nothing more.

She has no teeth yet and although she will eat many different foods, she won't eat lots at one time. She also does not like cow milk. 

Her first words were dada, mama, and turtle (although I can't get her to repeat it now).

Her first signed word was milk.

Her first sentence was "Mama! Baby! Up!"

Her favorite phrase is "Hi kitty cat!" while waving.

Sometimes she makes me want to get a dog because she loves animals.

She loves music and dancing. She also loves looking at her books.

She's beautiful. She has a very happy disposition. She can be very sweet and cozy when she is a happy girl. Her daddy loves her very much. Happy birthday, Kaelyn! (This was Jared's answer when asked to tell me about Kaelyn.)

We love watching her grow and seeing her personality come out.  Here is to a happy first birthday with a hope of many more to come!