Seven Springs Autumn Festival

First trip to the cabin!!

High Point Lake with Daddy

High Point Lake with Daddy

High Point Lake with Mommy & Reesa

Sorgel’s trip with Grayson

Sorgel’s trip with Grayson

“Raise up a child the way he should go…”

Children’s Museum with Jemma & Jade

Water room with Aunt Jenny

Cautiously taking steps

With big sister Sophia at church

Fishing with PapPap

Fishing with PapPap

Still wearing you in the wrap… even though you’re almost 25#!

Visiting with Great Aunt Diana & Aunt Amanda

Where did this year go? Sometimes I think my heart just may burst right on the spot.

We had a busy month, including her first time fishing & her first time on a little road trip away from home (to the cabin).

She’s changing so quickly and I want to remember every little detail. One thing I want to include in this recap, mainly for my own memories, is the response I receive from Capria when I sing to her. When she’s particularly overtired, the moment I start singing to her, her whole body relaxes and she’ll nestle in. It’s one of those moments that pulls at my heartstrings and gives me that ever-fleeting cuddle time with my baby girl that makes my heart overflow with love and joy.

One of my favorite personality traits from our little girl is the way she seems to love to try to engage others. She will crane her neck when we are out to try to look at the people around us and she’ll smile and say “Ha!” to strangers until they look at her and smile back.

She puts up a huge fuss about getting her diaper or outfit changed– it’s like, end-of-the-world dramatic. She flips over and tries to crawl away. It’s like wrangling a wild animal!

She loves to smile, baby talk (she calls River “gog”) and waving to everyone she sees (“Haa! Haaa!”). She especially likes looking out the window and waving to the neighbor kids when they’re playing basketball. She loves pulling all of the plastic storage containers out of the cabinet– and only this month has actually started to put things away.

She’s still getting breastmilk and tasted her first sip of Ripple milk (plant-based pea milk). After much discussion and research, we decided not to do cow’s milk for her. Her favorite food right now is still avocado– her old faithful. She eats just about everything we give her including kale veggie patties, salmon & cottage cheese.

She loves her swim class, going to the library, riding in the shopping cart & going through my make-up bag. In the mornings, she only wants her Dad & they spend some special time together when he feeds her breakfast. I love hearing the two of them chat away.

I want to embrace all these silly moments because I know they won’t last forever. I also cherish when she’s sleepy and calm, right before bed and she just snuggles. I can feel the stress melt away when she’s in my arms.

We are getting ready to celebrate her 1st birthday — Little Italy style. Our house is going to be packed with our family. And just like that, our bambina will be a toddler in the blink of an eye…what a beautiful, sweet, wild, mind-blowing year it’s been. It just keeps getting better.

I’m not sad that she’s turning 1. I’m so happy for her, because she’s so content and happy. If it were up to her, I think she’d have skipped the whole baby stage and went right to toddlerhood!

I love you, girl!