Liv Ellen is one year old today. Why does it feel like all of this happened yesterday, yet I can’t imagine what life was like around here without her?

She isn’t walking yet (which is perfectly fine by me, thank you very much), but she can stand unsupported while trying to jump up and down…because we all know that is so much easier than walking. She has also learned that whining usually results in getting exactly what you want (a skill her brother perfected years ago). If you just let her whine for a few minutes, she will forget what was bothering her and become intrigued by the fridge magnets, or dog bone, or shelf full of board books that she obsessively pulls off one by one until she’s nearly buried (we could open up a library out of our home…honestly). I still have no idea where she inherited her easygoing disposition from…it’s quite the enigma.

Kade has a full-blown playmate now. They wrestle on his bed, throw all the covers and pile of stuffed animals on the floor, and jump up and down while playing the “who can scream loudest” game, which probably accounts for her urge to jump rather than walk (and yell rather than talk). Kade tells her all about his trains and dinosaurs, then yells at her for touching them. Don’t worry, though…she fought back for the first time yesterday. Kade was playing with her piano and she wanted on, so she pulled at his shirt to get him off and he responded by falling over and fake crying. I had to hide my smile at her burgeoning skills.

I can’t help but get emotional when I look at her. She is so beautiful, so happy, so in awe of all the world has to offer. Watching my children grow and discover has been one of the greatest gifts of parenthood…I just wish that it didn’t have to happen so fast.

Happy Birthday, Lou. I hope that your constant, still toothless, smile is proof that you know just how much you are loved.