Happy First Birthday!

Look at her face! This is what I call her 'polite' smile. She does it a lot now.  I can't believe she's a year old today! I've been saving this shirt for her birthday. It says "I got my first hug at Mercy Hospital". At first I didn't think much of this shirt, but now that we're away from Iowa, every little reminder holds a special place in our hearts. I always want to remember that Joelle was born in Iowa.

 Let's take a look at her whole year of life in pictures.

 

 

 

I absolutely love having her as a part of my family. She is so fun and cute, and I love watching her grow.  She loves table food, and floor food, and any food EXCEPT for whole milk, so we still have her on formula.  She loves to crawl around and play with her brothers. She absolutely loves her blanket that her grandma Petersen made for her. She is seriously attached to it. She's getting so much better about letting other people hold her. As long as I'm not in her view, she has about an 80% chance of letting someone else hold her. The chances increase if you're wearing a necklace for her to play with. She says 'dada', but usually just to make noise. She says 'mama' but still only says it when she cries. She has always been a fantastic sleeper. She loves to clap, play patty cake, shake her head 'no', eat Joe's chin, open her mouth for kisses, bounce up and down to music, and say "uh-uh-uh-uh" as I hold and bounce her while going down the stairs. She is pulling herself up to stand, but not really close to walking yet. She has crawled up one or two stairs, but I'm too scared to let her practice that very often. 
We love her so much and can't wait to see her continue to grow and progress. She's our little Christmas Eve baby girl.