One

Dear Harper,

Happy first birthday sweet girl!

One year ago today I first laid eyes on you, and my first thought was, "Wait a minute, I've already had this baby." What can I say? You looked A LOT like Dane when he was born. My life changed forever that day one year ago, on my 31st birthday, when I became a "girl mommy".

You have been a very sweet baby these last 12 months, Harper girl. You have proven yourself to be very easy going and happy. Some things I don't want to forget about the little person you are right now:

-You think your big brothers hung the moon. They are your favorite people in the world, and you absolutely light up when they come in the room. One of your new favorite activities is to have an "animal party" with your brothers. The pack-n-play is set up for your littler friend Reed for when he comes to play, but you and your brothers love to all three get in the pack-n-play with about 15 of the stuffed animals and have an animal party. You love it.

- You are eating more than either of the boys did when they were your age. You love green beans, strawberries, spaghetti, olives, cheese, pears, chicken nuggets, meatballs, and just about anything that we can cut into little pieces. The other day I gave you half of a turkey and cheese sandwich whole just to see what you would do with it, and you knocked it back pretty good. And, unbeknownst to you, you had your very last bottle today. In a rare spring-cleaning moment, I packed up all of your bottles and put them in the top of your closet. (I couldn't bring myself to throw the bottles away just yet, even though I know we will not need them again.) Fortunately, you have been drinking out of a sippy cup for the last couple of weeks, so hopefully you won't notice too much. I have a feeling that Mommy and Daddy will miss our bottle times more than you will.

- You have been walking for about a month now, and you never really crawl anymore. You like to babble, and can say nigh-nigh, mama, and dada. Your very favorite toys are Wii controllers, cell phones, TV remotes, Dane's homework, and Sharpie markers. Seriously, you manage to find EVERYTHING.

- You are very social and have never met a stranger. You smile at just about everyone, and never cry when I put you in the nursery at church. As long as someone is paying you attention, you don't seem too concerned that it's not necessarily me. Unless I am in the room, then I MUST pay attention to you. You are used to being around kids that are bigger than you, and are pretty rough around babies your own age. You've been in the "walkers" class at church for several months now simply because you were pummeling those poor little crawlers and making them cry.

You had a great first birthday, sweet girl. We played at the park with Aidan, and you taught him to stand back a bit when you're swinging. We went out to eat Mexican food, then you had a big pink cupcake outside while the sun was setting.

And your birthday present from Mommy and Daddy on your first birthday? A big sister. You'll get to meet her later this year. You should feel pretty blessed, sweet girl. Not too many people get a BIG sister for their birthdays!

We love you so much, Little Hops!

Love, Mommy