She...

• turns one tomorrow! Why does this make me teary-eyed, when with her brother's 1st birthdays I was overjoyed at them reaching that milestone?

• is so responsive to everyone around her. It amazes us at how she wants to comfort her crying brother, or smiles at someone talking to her she doesn't know, or practically throws herself out of our arms at someone she knows well, and wants to hold her.

(The 1st pic I have of her smile with her Nana... at 4 weeks of age.)

• has been smiling since she was 5 days old... and not those "gassy smiles". Real, true smiles. Promise! Her smiles every day make every day 100x better. I know that as they grow, those smiles fade, but I hope that she'll still smile for us a lot. She's such a blessing to me!
• has the most beautiful personality- super sweet, independent, can hold her own with her older brothers, takes everything in stride, mostly- everyone notices- she's so happy!

•  still has peach fuzz on her head. We can't tell what her hair color is to this day! It looks brunette sometimes, blonde sometimes, red sometimes. And it appears that she may get the curly/wavy gene that the rest of us have as she has started a few little curls in the back. She has her Papa's cow-licks.

• has the cutest girly voice. Hardly cries. Sings, and bops and claps to music. :)

• unlike the boys: was 10 months old before she cut a tooth; started walking (at 11 months) before a year; doesn't sign "please" like they did, but signs "all done" & says "dah-daaah"! & waves those little hands- too cute!

(She still needs something to hold onto when she walks.)

• doesn't play well by herself... actually loves to play with & wear girly things- - the more tulle, lace, shine, ruffle it has, the better- bigtime score for me!... plays just as well with boy toys like dinosaurs, cars & trains, and wrestles with them, too.

(Yes, they climb into her crib with her sometimes. :) She's loved.)
• gave us the biggest blessing when she was born a year ago! And, in my own mommy opinion, she was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. :)

Happy 1st Birthday, baby girl! I love you so much and can't imagine life without you. You've brought so much joy into our family's lives. You are mine, your Papa's, and your bubbas' Sunshine!!

I'm amazed how she has gone from this...

to this, in what seems to be such a short time.