ONE YEAR

OH MY GOSH. We are done with these photos! Haha. But more importantly, Indiana is ONE YEAR OLD. What what what!

I obviously am full of lots of feelings about this. I will try to keep it "brief". But truly, I am just really excited. I'm a bit nostalgic, but I'm not really sad. I want her to be my baby forever, but I'm not sad that she's growing up. I'm more very proud of her and us and excited for what's to come. Every stage gets more and more fun!

And contrary to the faces she's making in these photos, this is a very fun stage and she was actually having a blast taking these photos. I was not! She thought it was a game; eat the letters, move every time mama tries to take a photo. You know. I just seemed to capture the serious moments, no doubt contemplating her next move.

Indiana has been learning all sorts of stuff lately. She has been "using" silverware, fetching things we ask for (when she's in the mood to listen), waving to people, standing for a few seconds unsupported (!!!), and daddy swears her first word is "cat". I've heard it, and it does sound like cat! But I've heard her say it to a ball so I don't know. She looks to the window and door whenever I say, "Dada's home!" or "BB is here!" She follows me around the apartment like a puppy, but she also ventures off on her own. No fear in this little girl.

I think we're slowly transitioning to losing her morning nap, which is sad for me because less free time, but also yay because that will give us a BIG chunk of time to do things in the morning! However in the mean time, nap times are a mess and very much hit or miss. Which makes evenings sometimes a little rough. But I know as all things are with babies, it's just a phase. This too shall pass. And something else crazy will take its place.

She's got five teeth and her sixth looks like it's about to pop through! We're still very far from walking, but I am in no hurry. Still a pretty good eater, I think her favorite food right now is cheese. If she even hears a bag of cheese open she starts pointing and grunting. Babies are so much like cats and dogs it's crazy. We've done a whole year of breastfeeding and have no plans to stop! She still nurses quite a bit, but she recently dropped her late afternoon feed. So we're slowwwly slowing down, but I'm in no hurry to quit.

Being Indiana's mama is the best job I've ever had. She is funny and silly and so happy and fierce and brave. She is observant and curious of the world around her and she makes me slow down and see the little things. She is an excellent teacher, I am learning so much from her. She is not an introvert. I don't know how I ended up with such an outgoing baby (ahem... Brendon), but she makes me talk to strangers every time we go out. She smiles and waves and flirts with everyone and conversations inevitably happen which are 100% outside of my comfort zone, but that's such a good thing. She makes me better. And she's ever watching and learning from us, so I've gotta be on my good human game! Being her mom makes me be better. It makes me look at the world differently, see things differently. And it gives me a much lower threshold for unnecessary BS.

But truly, this year has been so good. My first year of motherhood has been an adventure. An eyeopening and humbling experience. And not nearly as bad as some people make it out to be! I swear the way some people talk it's like, "JUST SURVIVE THE FIRST YEAR" and I mean, there's something to that I guess. There are hard parts, so much sacrifice, and I can see how the adjustment of having your first baby could be extreme, but I just really didn't find it that bad. Maybe because I expected motherhood to not come naturally to me and so many folks told me it was going to be rough so I prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised? Maybe because I was fully prepared to lay it all down for this little one? But I loved this last year. It was a year of learning and bonding and not much sleep, but who needs sleep! Maybe that's it. I've never been a good sleeper so maybe that helped ease me in. Who knows. But if you're about to be a parent or if you're in the newborn days, or if you're thinking about starting a family; do not let anyone scare you. It is as bad as you want to make it. Of course it is NOT easy, I meant it when I said sacrifice, but it is also fantastic. And fun. And just soak it and enjoy it! Even the crazy nights and the crying fits and the blow outs. These are good things. It means you are a parent. And you have your baby. And you care. And that is such a gift.

Blurry, but booya, I got a year of photos of her laying on her back. GOD, that was the hardest photo to get. She thought it was such a fun game. BUH, so glad we're done with these photos.

Farewell first year of babyhood! You were a good one. I don't know how much I'll miss you, but we sure had fun and we made all the memories. Bring on the toddler years. Although, we gotta learn to toddle first I guess.

And now it's complete. THE WHOLE YEAR!