My One Year Old

These photos were taken by our dear friend, Taylor Brown, while we were visiting for Labor Day. She was only 11 months, but they capture her personality so well (she always has and has had that furrowed brow!)

At one year old, sweet Margot, you:

-Continue to be such a blessing to us. I love that, with your intense personality, you have so much to keep you busy. Two older brothers definitely help keep you entertained. Maybe that was the problem with Micah at your age: he was so bored!

-Are extremely precocious. You want to do more than your body is ready for. You have so much to say and you want to know about everything. You point to things constantly and ask what they are. You drag out book after book for me to read to you so that you can point to all the pictures and practice saying new words. You talk a lot for a 12 month old. We estimate that you have 50 or more words. You don't have the best pronunciation, but we can usually figure out what you are saying. One week, you went into your brothers' room and lined up all their stuffed animals. You were not content until you mastered all the animal names and sounds. Some nights I would carry you in tears to your room. You would just get so worked up, I felt I needed to rescue you from the undue stress you were putting on yourself. Ahhh, another overachiever. I wonder where you get that from? :) You succeeded, little girl, and now proudly tell everyone what lions, monkeys, elephants, bears, and porcupines say(Dada taught you a joke and you reply "uh oh" when asked "what does a porcupine say". You think this is really funny and we are pretty sure you understand that you are being silly).

-Took your first trip to the hospital. You had a little tumble off the slide one night while having fun with Owen. We didn't think anything of it as it was not a very scary fall. You cried most of the night and next morning. When you began standing like a flamingo, I decided to take you for an x-ray. Thankfully, there was no break, and you recovered pretty quickly.

-Love food! Anything we put on your plate, you eat. Your brothers were good eaters at this age too, but there was always a few things they would spit out or gag on. I have never seen you turn away anything. I love watching you eat plates full of colors and hope you continue to love them so much.

-Are still nursing. I really don't know how long we will keep this up. You have had milk in a cup and do great. Since nursing isn't really tying me down, and I really have nowhere else to be, I think we will continue for a little while longer. I'm just not quite ready to let you go.

-Take one good 2-3 hour nap a day. You also still sleep roughly 12 hours each night. Every once in a while you sleep extra late in the morning or take a really long nap. You had been waking up once in the middle of the night. This was my fault as I let you continue with this bad habit. We have been doing some sleeping boot camp and you are responding well. You seem your same chipper self in the morning despite the tears at 3 am. Thankfully, I think this habit is already almost broken after a few nights of dada coming in instead of me.

-Stand by yourself. You have taken a step or two, mostly when no one is looking, but you are too nervous to attempt any further distances. I am very ready for you to walk and think we are about to devote some serious time to teaching you how. Your left foot still turns way in after a few steps, so it might be a challenge to learn good balance. The doctor assures me this will straighten itself out in the next few months.

-Are 21 lbs. and 30 1/4 inches long. This puts you in the 50% for weight and 80% in height. You are slimming down but keeping you length. You definitely did not get your height from me, but I think you will enjoy being taller if you stay on this track.

We love you sweet girl and are so thankful for your first year of life. May the Lord grant us many more.