My Baby Is One!

Oaklyn turned ONE today!
And yes, I C-A-N-N-O-T believe how fast it has flown by. 

 

She is the sweetest, happiest, most kissable baby!

Maybe this is only cute to me because I am her Mom, but the other day I peeked my head into her room to see if she was still sleeping, and found her in her crib with her shirt pulled up, baby Budha belly poking out.  

She had found a new favorite toy.
HER BELLY!  

She was poking at her belly button and trying to pick up her little chub with both hands.  

Each time her attempts were unsuccessful, and her adorable little belly roll would jiggle back into place.  Who doesn't love baby rolls? 

 I wish I had my video camera with me right that second.  

I love watching that girl grow!  
We filled her crib with balloons for her birthday, and it was so fun to watch her swim in the balloon pit, and giggle.  
She had so much fun!

She is such a little darling, and I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father sent her to me to be her Momma.  She has taught me more about life in one short year than I could ever teach her.  

She has been walking for a while.  Her first steps were around 11 months.  

She is my first baby to be walking by one.  We are slow walkers around here.  I am talking 13-15 months slow.  

I think she is trying to catch up with her brothers who adore her.  

Most of the time, Easton talks to her in a very high pitched squeaky voice like she is a little crumb on the floor.  When she first started to stand, Easton squealed(in his signature high voice), "Our baby stands Mom!  Different babies don't stand."  She had learned a new skill, and he was proud.
Landon always asks to keep his door open during quiet time if she is awake so he can "babysit" her.  One day after I had done Oaklyn's hair, Landon told me, "Oaklyn is one-of-a-kind Mom!"  

She is so loved! 

Some of my favorite times with her are right before I lay her down to sleep.  

As I sit, rock, and sing to her to calm her before laying her down, it feels like time slows down for a moment.

And I think, "This is what my arms were made for.  

This is where I feel peace."

I love looking into her eyes and watching her smile up at me.  

Sometimes she tries to sing a sweet little song too.  

She usually peeks her chubby little hand out from under the fluffy blanket, and her fingers find my lips to be kissed again and again.  It is our favorite little game that only she and I share.  

I treasure these moments, that sometimes feel like sand slipping through my fingers.  

Birthdays always make me feel sentimental, and even though she grows less and less like a baby every day, she will always be my baby.  

Dave snapped this picture of me, and I want to frame it, and put it into the nursery with the oft repeated poem:

                                           "Babies Don’t Keep"

                    Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
                        Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
                       Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
                          Sew on a button and butter the bread.

                   Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
                       She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

                     Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
                                 Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
                          Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
                           Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

                    The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

                               And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
                              But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
                          Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
                                    Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

                      The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
                      But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
                            So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
                           I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

I love this poem, because it reminds me to slow down and take it all in.  

These moments are so precious and fleeting.  

This picture makes me happy, not because my hair looks great, or I am wearing a cute outfit, or it is a glamorous shot.  But because of the LOVE I feel when I look at it.

Even though I don't rock them to sleep, I love rocking my babies before bed.  Those moments are truly sent from heaven.  I never feel more complete or closer to God than holding my babies.  

Motherhood can be hard sometimes, but there are so many rewarding moments.  

Happy birthday Oaklie!  

We love you sooo much!
XOXO