Happy 1st Birthday Baby Girl

And just as they say, the first year of life for yet another one of my babies has flown by. This Christmas season last year, we were welcoming you into the world Scarlett Grace. And this year, we are doing our best to slow down time and soak up every moment as your fiesty personality begins to break through.

As much as we thought it’d be so different having a little girl, the ways in which you are similar to your older brothers are uncanny. Just like James Michael as a baby, you have to see what is going on all the time. When I hold you, you push away and crane your neck to get the best view of whatever the Rowdy boys are doing. And just like Beaudozer, you love touch and are perfecting the art of climbing onto anything.

But as much as your brothers adore you, sometimes they just won’t leave you alone or they snatch your toys. And when that happens, you make your tiny presence known with a big voice followed by an attempt to bite, headbutt or yank hair.

As much as I was expecting a sweet, soft, sensitive little girl all the time, it’s probably for your own good that you can hold your own with the Rowdy boys. I have a feeling that in a few years you will be ordering them around.

You were not impressed with your birthday cake this year, despite my efforts to make it girly. You prefer meat over sweets any day, especially bacon, hamburger and roast. We joke that you have a hollow leg because despite being tiny (17+ pounds, finally!), you can pack away some food, often eating more than James Michael at a meal.

You are so close to walking on your own, but you prefer to hold just one finger while we chase after the Rowdy boys. You love to clap and shake your hands whenever you hear music, and you wave any time we say goodbye or hello. You’re learning how to blow kisses and you have mastered the art of open-mouthed kisses.

You are still a bit of a Mama’s girl, and that’s ok, because you’re stuck with me for quite some time!

Happy first birthday to our tiny girl!