Happy First Birthday, Amelia!

Dear Amelia,

Today, you are ONE year old. It amazes me how a year and eight months ago, you were just a couple of cells and now you are a beautiful, energetic, intelligent little (or should I say big) girl! I still remember going to Labor and Delivery several times when I was pregnant with you, worried that you and your sister were going to come too early. The nurses would place the heartbeat monitors on my belly and would always be able to find Samantha in seconds. You, on the other hand, were another story. The nurse would find your little heartbeat, only to lose it a second later because you were moving around so much! The nurses started calling you the “Infamous Twin B” and joked that you liked to party, especially late at night! One year later, you are STILL a little wiggle worm, always moving, always the life of the party.

 Two minutes after Samantha was born, I saw your little 5 pound 8 ounce body and was at first, terrified, because you didn’t seem to be screaming like Samantha was. A few seconds later, you started crying softly, but looked more curious about everything than scared. You are still my quiet(er), observant one– you love to take in the world around you.

 You have brought so much laughter into our lives from the day we first met you. During the times your were awake your first few weeks of life, you would make us smile lifting your arm up high, as if asking a question in school, and making your “O face,” where you would purse your lips into a perfect little “O.” You were the first to give us a real smile at four weeks old, and haven’t stopped since.

You definitely had your bad moods, and in fact, for the first few months, I would describe you as the more volatile twin…you could go 0 to 60 in two seconds flat! Overall though, you have always been extremely good natured and a “go with the flow” kind of girl!

Now, you love to get me or daddy to chase you and you giggle in delight when we finally catch you. You squeal when we play Itsy Bitsy Spider or Pat a Cake and your favorite thing to do when you get out of your high chair is to race for the stairs, looking back for a second to make sure I’m watching before you disappear around the corner, giggling and taunting me to come grab you.

Besides your sister, your best friend in the world is Bandit. You love to grab his leash and “walk” him when we go outside, and he generally lets you. You love walking Bandit so much that you have even appropriated one of the stuffed animal backpacks with a lead on it into your very own doggie to walk. You won’t go anywhere without dragging your doggie along…even in your high chair!

Although you have always been a pound or two smaller than Samantha, you hold your own with her. Since you are easy-going, when Samantha steals a toy from you, you usually let her have it and happily go find something else to play with, but, when you really want something, you know how to show her who’s boss!

I love when you are willing to cuddle since you are usually on the move and wiggle out of my lap if I try and hold you. Ever the independent girl, you were the first to stop wanting to be spoon fed and still insist on picking up your own food, even if it’s a struggle for you to do so. You eat everything and anything…sometimes to your own detriment as you love to pick up sand and, especially bits of paper to stuff in your mouth. I know whenever you have a bit of something you are not supposed to because you will look guilty and start giving me a slobbery, toothy grin. You will then attempt to run away when I try and grab you to extract whatever it is you are chewing on. Silly Amelia!

Your absolute favorite time of the day is when Daddy comes home and throws you in the air or puts you on his shoulders. You also love playing on the jungle gym Daddy made you. You are extremely STRONG and can do pull-ups almost on your own. Maybe you will turn out to be a gymnast!

Even though you are constantly on the move, you seem to think deeply about the world around you. When we are outside, you love to stare up at the sky, or look closely at a blade of grass, completely in your own little world. You love to watch people and after keenly observing something, you will often copy it. You love to shake your head back and forth, really quickly and we think you like it because it makes you dizzy.

You are so much fun to be around! When I pick you up out of your high chair, we fly around the room and sing “Flying Trapeze” while chasing Bandit or swinging into Samantha. When you only a few months old, we would show you the owls in the mural in your room that Grandma Celeste painted and you would smile and giggle every time. I think you love animals!

When Samantha started rolling over, sitting up and crawling, you desperately wanted to do the same things as well and got so frustrated trying. You never gave up though. You were the first to play peekaboo by hiding under your blanket and the first to start waving and clapping.  You were also the first to sprout teeth, and now have six of them, four of which have come in within the past few weeks!

You are such a sweet little sister (by two minutes, so don’t let her hold that over you!) and a good influence on Samantha. I hope you are always best friends. While you have similar features to your sister, you are definitely your own individual person and we are excited to see how your personality will develop.

Amelia, we can’t wait to see what new and exciting things you will learn this coming year. It makes us so happy to watch you grow and see the world through your little eyes. Everything is amazing to you and we love that about you. We have had the time of our lives with you this year, and although it’s been challenging to say the least, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I am forever grateful to have you as a daughter.

Happy first birthday, Amelia Bug!

I love you,

 Mommy