The Big O-N-E!!!!!

How in the world is my baby one already?! It makes me really sad that she's growing up so fast and that I won't remember just what she was like as a baby. But, I'm also very excited to see her learning new things every day. Ah, mixed emotions! Annie is truly a joy of a child. She just kind of goes with the flow and loves being in the mix of our crazy family. Her personality is showing more and more each day. We decided sort of last minute to head down to Disneyworld for her birthday. Richard had the time off since it was Veteran's Day weekend, so we got to enjoy three days there. She didn't love being in the stroller/carried all day long, so when she got the chance to walk, she was all over the place. She even refused to hold our hands most of the time. She wanted her freedom!
We were at Epcot on the afternoon of her actual birthday and they were having the Food and Wine Festival, so there were all these giant cakes on display...very fitting!


Ella was very excited for Annie's birthday and said that we needed to invite everyone at Disneyworld to her birthday party. She had a hard time understanding that just being there was the present.

Annie was not loving the characters. She would walk near them (unlike Ruby, who wouldn't go near anyone but the princesses), but as soon as they started giving her attention, she would get the pouty lip, turn around, and run away.

Just disregard the fact that Ella is copping a feel here. Poor Sleeping Beauty.

Here's a little about Annie at 1:

- She started walking at a little over 11 months (our earliest one yet!).

-She has mastered going up and down the stairs. She had great motivation to learn this skill, since the playroom is the only room upstairs. Before she learned to go down, she would sit at the top of the stairs and yell until someone came and got her.

- She has never taken a pacifier, but would suck on an empty bottle for hours. My confession is that sometimes when she wakes up at 5 am, I bring a bottle to her that has about an inch of water in it. She will sleep for 2-3 more hours when I do this. Bottles in bed...I know...it's a no-no. But at least it's just a little bit of water. After our trip to Arizona for Thanksgiving, the bottle will be taken away.

- She can sort of say a few words. No one else would know that she's saying anything, but we think we hear it. She says Ella (sounds like "Ewa") and uses this interchangeably for Ella and Ruby. She says dada, but I don't think she knows what it means. When she does the sign for fish, she sort of says, "isssshhhhh". The only other sign she does is "all done". She used to sign "more", but won't do it any more.

- She has a couple of tricks that she will do on command. She plays peek-a-boo, and can do a few animal sounds. She does cow, monkey, and lion. She can point to her nose and eyes. She even says, "Eyes".

- She points at things and babbles on and on, like she's telling you the most important thing in the world.

- She's had her two lower teeth for several months, but is just now getting her four upper teeth. One of the central ones is coming in a little more slowly than the other 3, so she looks a little goofy.

- She goes to bed at about 7:30 pm and wakes up at about 6:30 (or later, depending if I use the bottle trick or not). She takes a morning nap after we take Ella to preschool or go to the gym, from about 9:30-11:30. Then an afternoon nap from 2:30-4:30. Except for the early waking up, she's a pretty great sleeper.

- She loves playing with her sisters! She's even liking Ruby more and more these days. She goes up to the playroom with them and dinks around with all the toys, playing just like they do. She loves to play chase and sit on the couch with them. She also loves to hold crayons or pencils and "write" on paper.

- We got her one of those Whisper Ride Buggy's on Craigslist for her birthday present, but ended up giving it to her a month early since the weather is so nice. She loves going on walks and riding in it!

- She still loves "The Wheels on the Bus". She's also starting to like the "Baby Signing Time" movies more. We figured she would be an expert at signing after our drive to Disney. She watched them over and over.

- She has a few nick names. Annie Mae, stink, bubs.

Here's a little video of Annie walking. I shot this almost a month ago. We like to call this "The Truffle Shuffle":

We all love our little Annie Mae!