It's somebody's FIRST birthday...

Can someone puh-lease tell me where the last year went? I can't believe that my baby girl is already one year old! Ever since Eleanore arrived, time seems to have gone into warp speed. But it has been the most exciting and rewarding year of my life. It has been fun to think about what I was doing exactly one year ago at this time.

Eleanore is so much fun. She's so interactive and curious about everything. It's amazing what she picks up. She's a little sponge. Here are a few tidbits, all about Eleanore:

* Eleanore talks NON-STOP. Most of the time she's just an excellent babbler, especially "da, da, da". "Dada" was her first word. She also says, "mama", "pease" (please) “am pa” (Grandpa), “na, na” (Nana), “a na na” (banana), "babah" (baby = her dolls), "bla-bla" (blankie), "ak, er" (cracker), "ba-bi" (Bye-Bye) and many other things that don’t make any sense to us.

*She is FINALLY sleeping all night long...usually from 8:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. She also takes two great naps about one and half hours in the morning and the same in the afternoon

* She is a FANTASTIC eater. Eleanore loves to eat. Her favorite things include carrots, squash, cheese, crackers, turkey lunch meat, animal cookies, water, yogurt, Cherrios, apples and eggs.

* Bath time = Eleanore's favorite time ever.

* The only exception to the statement above would be story time. Even saying the words "book" or "story" make Eleanore smile and leap into our arms. She loves to be read to and to look through books. Her favorites are "Eleanore, Ellatony, Ellencake and Me", "Princess Baby", "The Going to Bed Book" and "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom."

* Eleanore has nine teeth: two molars (one on top, one on bottom), four on the bottom front and three on the top front).

* Eleanore loves to play. She likes to be tickled and chased, she loves to play with her dollies, balls and dollhouse and likes to play pat-a-cake, hide-and-seek and peek-a-boo.

* Eleanore is a cuddlebug. Since the beginning, Eleanore has loved to cuddle. At the hospital she would squirm around on our chests until she could hear our heartbeats and then fall fast asleep. She still loves to be held and cuddled.

* She is a sweetheart. She likes to give kisses, blow kisses, do butterfly kisses and do snugglenose.

* She knows her animals. She can make puppy noises, monkey noises, cow noises and sheep noises. She also likes to point at the birds in the sky when we are outside.

* She recently learned to fold her arms for prayer (although it doesn't last long).

*She knows and will point to these body parts: ears, eyes, nose, mouth, tummy, hair, toes and teeth (she'll just show you her teeth).

* She is a busy body...always into something and always moving...even when she is asleep (rolling around in her bed), unless she is being held.

* She loves watching and playing with the big kids...especially her cousins.

* She is learning to walk and has the proudest smile on her face when you walk her around. I spend a good part of my day just walking around holding her hand.

* Best of all, she is a happy girl. She has a smile on her face most of the time, loves to laugh (even fake laugh) and loves to make us smile (she'll even tickle us!).

Thanks for allowing me that little Mom bragging time. :) I feel so blessed to have this little girl in my life. I couldn't ask for a better baby!