Becca - One Year!

Even as I write the title I can't even believe that the first year of Becca's life has already come and gone.
We've had quite the year with our sweet Becca.
One year of joy. One year of diaper changes. One year of successful breastfeeding. One year of sleepless nights. One year of playtime, bathtime, naptime. We've had our fill of laughs and giggles, of tears and tears that won't stop. Of happy times and sad, but the happy always wins out. One year of discoveries, one year of firsts.

We celebrated Becca's birthday with both sides of mine and Mitchell's family on July 29th. It couldn't have been a more perfect day! The weather was fabulous, and just about everyone we invited came (with the exception of a few people). We had a "You are my Sunshine" themed party. I made decorations to incorporate the words of the song with sun and cloud shapes. We had yellow and pink baloons and streamers....it was so much fun! We had a barbecue with burgers and hotdogs. I made a "smash cake" just for her! We sang her happy birthday and she LOVED every minute of it! She smiled and laughed while we sang, looking around at everyone. Then we gave her the cake for her to just have at it! She loved it! She slowly took it apart. After a little while, we cut off a piece for her to devour...and devour she did! She loved opening all her gifts...and loved the wrapping paper even more. My parents got her a kiddie pool, and she and her cousin Jolie (2) enjoyed playing in that for awhile!

As of Saturday, August 19th, Becca is officially walking! She had been taking about 6 steps at the most before that, but really took off on Saturday when she surprises us by walking across the living room floor! It was incredible!
Becca can now say, "See it! See it!" while she points to whatever she sees. She definitely has her own language and way of communicating. She uses distinct sounds for different activities, things and wants. She climbed into the basket of her stroller this afternoon, and said, "I did it!" as clear as day!
Some of Becca's favorite foods are peanut butter sandwiches, peas, cheese, pasta, scrambled eggs, and strawberries.

Becca loves to be outside. We got a swingset given to us, and now she loves to swing. But by far her favorite outside activity is her kiddie pool from Grammie and Grampa. She loves all things water, so we knew she'd have a blast in it! So we have an afternoon routine of going outside and bringing her swim clothes because I know she's going to get tired of her swing and want to go in her pool! She spashes and plays in the water and has the best time! Becca also loves "helping" me in the garden. She isn't too destructive yet, just mostly curious. She finds rocks and I make sure they don't make it to her mouth. :)

Becca is such a joy, and I'm excited for all the milestones and exciting adventures ahead for her. It'll be so fun to see what the next year of her life brings!