12 Months

Happy birthday, baby!

We’ve had one whole trip around the sun with this precious baby girl and have loved every minute. This girl is the sweetest, happiest baby I’ve ever known. Her smile makes me smile, her laugh makes me laugh, and she is more beautiful every day. I love that she got her blue eyes from her daddy. I love how she giggles when her brothers act silly for her. Her birthday party tomorrow will be “sugar and spice” themed because she truly is everything nice!

Sweet girl, you light up my life. This first year with you has been better than I could’ve imagined. You are one of my life’s greatest blessings. Having a daughter has changed my world for the better. I can’t wait to keep watching you grow. Love you, baby. Happy 9th.

“So lets climb every tree/and drink imaginary tea/and speak a language only we can understand/and I will fight back the tears/as we fly through the years/and I’ll keep you as close as I can/cause I love you more than you will ever know.” -imaginary tea, Jon McLaughlin

11 Months

Our picture this month shows a new trick!  Baby girl can walk.  It's only a few steps at a time right now, but I know that soon enough she'll be running to keep up with the big brothers.  She's talking more now, still mostly nonsense sounds, but a few recognizable words here and there.  Holland wants every book to be a touch-and-feel book, and runs her fingers along plain pages with a confused look.  She feels she's outgrown baby food entirely and wants to share any and all food with the adults and big kids. (She has created an effective diet plan for me by my getting the food I want to eat and then having her eat half of all my portions.) 

Happy 9th, baby.  I love you with my whole heart.  Now let's start practicing holding up one tiny little finger, because the next ninth of the month, you'll be an entire year old!

10 Months

Double digits now, baby!

You continue to be the sweetest, happiest baby.  I think you could walk if you tried, but although your little legs are strong enough, your confidence isn't quite ready yet, so we'll wait patiently.  This month you've started trying to talk to us, no doubt trying to make you voice heard above the din that is your older brothers.  I am going to officially declare your first word (besides mama and dada) to be "book," even though it sounds a little more like "buh."  I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.  You're a doll, Holland Elizabeth.  Every day with you is a good day, and we've already gotten 10 months full of good days. 

Happy 9th, love bug.

9 Months

A round of applause for this 9 month old girl!

Holland learned to clap this month and she uses her new skill all the time.  Out of the twenty-five frames I shot for this picture, about twenty of them had motion blur on her little hands, like trying to catch hummingbird wings.  She loves to eat whatever we're having rather than baby food puree (who could blame her?), so she's enjoyed trying lots of new foods this month.  She can pull up to standing and walk a little bit if you hold both of her hands, but she's still content to army crawl when she really needs to get somewhere quickly.

This baby girl continues to be as sweet as pie.  She's all sugar and (true to third child lore) seems to know that her job is to roll with whatever crazy schedule the rest of us are operating on.  She wins the best sleeper award, too!

Happy ninth, my little love.  I'm so glad I'm your mommy.

8 Months

Happy ninth, baby girl.

On a technicality (because it's after midnight on the 8th as I post this), you are 8 months old today.  I can't believe it.  I'm up late tonight thinking of some things that are not important (building a new house) some things that are very important (praying for a sweet friend who just came out of the hospital) and you.  Precious girl, I want everything for you.  At 8 months old you are the happiest, easiest, best sleeping baby I've ever had.  Your very first tooth just poked through the gums, which is always a fun moment for your mommy/dentist.  Your new favorite game is practicing pulling up to standing, and then sitting down with a plop.  It's my fault, really, because I cheer for you every time you do either one.  It's a win-win situation at Casa Edwards.  This month it was especially hard to take your picture because you are always on the move, so this side-swipe pic was the best I could manage, but I do declare you're still adorable, even crunched over sideways.

Happy 9th, little lady.  I love you to pieces.