eden: one year down

eden is one year old today.  she arrived beautifully one year ago.  twelve blissful, confusing, challenging, beautiful, wonderful, scary months are at their end.  we made it baby and you are one fantastic one year old.

at 12 months she is walking everywhere.  her walk is fast and athletic, if not totally stable yet.  she gets everywhere she is going very very quickly and she keeps me on my toes.  but i really love that she is walking.  people in the grocery store would frequently say things to me like 'just wait till she is walking' or 'you will have your hands full when she starts walking', as if speaking out a dreaded warning that life would get horrible as soon as eden became upwardly mobile.  but its not terrible at all, its actually my very favorite.  when she sees me and wants me, she can run to me excitedly and crash into my arms.  how in the world could i not love that?  when i have my hands full of things, she can trail along next to me instead of me needing to hold her.  when its time for dinner, i can just say ''eden do you want to eat?' and she will make her way quickly and single-mindedly over to her chair.  

and speaking of eating, yes she does; almost anything and in huge amounts. she loves food and signs please with urgency whenever her plate is starting to empty.  i love watching her enjoy the textures of different foods, eating them off her bare belly when she has dropped a bite or two and they have come to rest on her rotund little self. 

she learns quickly and talks all the time.  her version of please is frequently heard as she walks around, looking at different things and requesting to have them as her own.  she calls me mama and robert dada and points out our faces in the photo in the hall. 

she throws her arms in the air when i yell 'hip hip', a trick that aunt martha taught her.  she smiles till her face is sore and till mine is sore from smiling back.  she loves her daddy something fierce and nearly jumps out of my arms when he comes into view. and when i hear her say mama, my world stops a little.

notice how the sign was as big as her torso in the one month photo. its blowing my mind how much she has grown.

i made this little video of bits of her first year.  its about ten minutes.  im pretty proud of how hard i worked to make sure i documented year one and i am pretty proud of this little video. watch if you like.

eden we have loved having you around for this whole year and cant wait to see how you grow and learn and change as the next one kicks off.  we pray that your little heart will soften and become sweet toward the things of God and toward our Savior as you grow.  

happy birthday!