Sadie Grace Turns One!

Our little girl is ONE!  I don't know how this is possible, but it's true!  I just spent hours putting together her baby book and wrote a long note to her in the back of the book - documenting her year and how much she means to us.  I've included it below with some pictures of her special day...Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!
It's so fun to see how much she's grown since the beginning!

Dear Sadie,
It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since you made your entrance into this world!  You were due to be born on March 25^th, which was your Bepa’s birthday, but just like your brothers, you weren’t quite ready on your due date.   

Even though you were born eight days later, you’ll always have that special bond with your Bepa.  He never got to meet you or hold you in his arms because he passed away just two months before your birth, but he was so excited for our family and to know that a little girl was going to enter our lives.  He knew you and loved you before you were even born and he will always be a special part of your story as his death and your life are so intertwined. 

You were born at 7:11pm on April 2, 2013 and weighed 9 lb 1oz (after pooping twice!) and were 20.5 inches long.  Your Daddy, of course, and Ami and Nan all were able to witness your water birth and it was a truly miraculous moment for all of us to experience.  From the very beginning your 

brothers have showered you with love.  They love to hold you, play with you, make you laugh and now that you’re getting bigger they like to “wrestle” with you.  They’re not always happy when you mess up the toys that they’re playing with, which you seem to thoroughly enjoy, but overall the three of you have a very special relationship. 

You flashed your first big smile at five weeks old and rolled over in both directions just a couple days after you turned three months old.  You learned your very first sign, “nurse” at only 5 ½ months old which was very early and completely melted our hearts and you started sitting up independently around the same time.  On your six month birthday you shocked us when we watched you pull yourself up to standing in your crib and by seven months you had learned to crawl, were pulling yourself up on everything and had cut your first two teeth!  You started taking your first independent steps at 10 months and were walking at 11 months. 

You are spunky, silly and full of life.  If you want something, you make sure to let us know!  You have many signs that you use to communicate with – by your first birthday you could sign night night, more, all done, nurse, grapes, cheese, water, book, diaper change, shower/tubby, gentle and thank you – but if for some reason we don’t see you using your signs you just start yelling to get our attention!  You can also say Mama (first word!), hi, banana, water, apple, cheese, Dada, Micah (Ika), Bubba (Ubba), Ami, Pop, Mylah, again and uh-oh!

You love to read Goodnight Moon and Pat the Bunny.  You’re always getting into mischief and love to pull on and try to eat electrical cords.  You love climbing up and down the stairs and like to throw things into the toilet bowl if someone leaves the top open!  It’s impossible to empty the dishwasher without you climbing up on the open door to “help,” and when you hear the door open you yell “Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi” at the top of your lungs until whoever arrived comes to give you a hug!  You aren’t a very good sleeper and although you fall asleep in your crib, you spend the majority of the night in bed with Mama and Daddy.  You are still nursing every 2-4 hours (or more often) around the clock and although nursing you is one of my favorite joys in life you have a habit of pulling at my hair really hard and/our scratching at my eyes.  Somehow, we both still love those moments together and I’m so glad you still connect with your Mama in that way.  If you wake up at night, I’ll lift you from your bed and you put your head on my shoulder and start gently stroking the hair on the back of my neck.  It’s a memory that I don’t ever want to forget. 
You have brought more joy to our lives than we ever thought possible.  You brought light to our home in a time of darkness and your bright smile has helped to dry so many tears.  You are a little spitfire who is destined for great things.  We love you, sweet little Sadie Grace!