The 12th Month

Well folks, the long awaited 1 year blog post is finally here! Can you believe it? I seriously cannot believe that I have a one year old. It sounds so weird to say. It was probably the quickest year of my life, most definitely the most fun and rewarding.

I thought I was going to be super sad and emotional on her birthday, but honestly it was just fun. It was so fun to see how happy she was with all the attention and I just kept starring at her thinking, "I made her, and I've raised her for a whole year... and we survived... flourished even!" I just think that each stage gets better and better. Newborns are amazing, and little babies are so cute and toddlers are so. much. fun. I just can't get over how fun she is right now. She is learning new things every day, and I love doing new things with her. Just little things like splash pads, or hiking, or lake trips are so much better because I get to take her with me. She has the best sense of humor, and she is really easy going and fun. She is content doing almost anything, and that makes everything that much better.

I got to celebrate my first "real" Mother's day this year! It was so great and I loved being doted on by Alex and Isabel. We were able to go and spend time with my mom, and my mom in law and that was great to see them and celebrate them. I have honestly loved every minute of being a mom. Nothing has felt more natural or easy. I've had friends ask me if I missed working, or if I plan to go back to school, and I can tell them 100% I have no desire to do that. Becoming a mom has completed me. It was and is everything I ever want to do. I'm so blessed to be able to have the ability to stay home with Izzy, and I'm grateful every day for my hardworking husband.

May was just the most gorgeous month full of amazing weather and fun activities. We went to the peach festival at schnepf farms and we went to the lake and Big Surf a few times. We spent many morning at the park and going on walks. It was such an unusually cool spring and I wanted to enjoy that as much as possible before the triple digits started kicking in. Isabel loves being outside. She loves nature. She loves pointing to all the birds she sees, and she always perks up when she hears a dog bark. She is also OBSESSED with airplanes. She hears them, and immediately points to the sky and goes "ohh, ohh!!!" it's awesome. She even points to the ceiling if we are inside but she can hear a plane go by. hilarious. We have a little pilot on our hands.

Uncle Brennan and Aunt Deanna graduated high school and we were able to celebrate with them which was lots of fun! It's crazy to see your baby brother graduate. It seems like literally yesterday that I was getting ready to do that... and then I remember that that was 7 years ago! We are so proud of them, and the great examples that they are for our family.

Isabels Birthday was awesome! We had so much fun! She loves balloons, and so i made sure she had some balloons tied to her crib when she woke up in the morning. I immediately knew she was up cuz I heard her gasping and saying "Oh! Oh!" at the balloons. Alex and I sang happy birthday to her and she was in heaven, she was smiling and dancing and it was just the cutest thing. We spent some time with her in the morning and then Alex had to work so I went out to my parents house and we spent the day with them. We went to lunch at Liberty Market and then went back out to our house so izzy could nap, (yup i'm a mean mom that made her still take a nap on her birthday ;) She woke up, and Alex came home from work and then it was present time! We opened all her gifts and you could tell that she was so overwhelmed and happy with all the new toys! Then we went to Grimaldi's for free birthday pizza, which she LOVES and then to Frost for free gelato! We sure know how to mooch the free birthday stuff! It was just the best day!! I'm so glad that we can be surrounded by family and that Isabel gets so much love and affection from her grandmas and grandmas and aunts and uncles!

A few weeks later we finally had a little party with everyone who couldn't be there on her actual birthday. We did a little luau, and it was just perfect. We swam, and ate *Hawaiian* pizza and had a cake smash! It was a short and sweet, but again, we just focused on Isabel and the things she likes (swimming and food-she's so hard to please) and it was a fun little day!

I'm beyond blessed to be this sweet angel's momma. She brightens my day every single day, and she is my best little buddy. She is so fun and makes me laugh constantly. She is just incredible. I don't think I will ever be able to express quite how much I love her, but I will definitely try!

Isabel, thanks for making this last year, the best one of our life! <3