Hannah is one!

12 months of swirling activity, fun filled memories and so much change have flown by more than I ever could have imagined and now I am reflecting on this amazing little one year old, who is fully into toddlerhood and already demonstrating so much of who she is and who she will be. I am already so proud of her and excited to see what adventures she will lead all of us on. I am also a little sad, because my baby is now a toddler and those precious first few months of the first year of life are in the rearview mirror, but I am so thankful for all of the fun along the way and I will continue to try and remind myself to slow down, despite how fast Hannah may be running :)

Hannah is full of activities and noises these days. She is pointing at everything and it is clear that she understands what we are telling her and will respond accordingly. She loves to be a little helper around the house, throwing away garbage, sweeping and putting things away. She is never too busy to follow her sister around though and loves following after her and trying to copy everything she does. I truly think at times she thinks she is much older than one!

She absolutely loves music and any time a song comes on, or if she is really happy, she will start dancing. Sometimes it is swaying or bending her knees, but when she is really into it she will start spinning around with the brightest grin on her face. So many things make her smile and she is such a happy baby. If she is momentarily sad, one quick game of peekaboo brightens her smile and makes any previous worries wash away.

As she is getting older, her verbal skills are also starting to emerge. She will point at animals and say there name, such as "bird" and "dog". It isn't perfect but she is getting there.  She also barks/growls, when she sees dogs which is pretty funny. She definitely loves dogs and will chase after them when we see them on our walks or at the park. She is always happy to pet them and just be around the dogs.

When I walk in the door at the end of the day I am greeted with a bright "hiyee" as she comes running towards me. Ever once and a while if something crazy happens (or she hears me say it) she will say woah woah woah. Copycatting is emerging as one of her favorite things, I think mostly because it gets such laughs. Recently when she lifts things up or climbs the stair she grunts while doing it - I am guessing I must do that occasionally or something! She also loves copying her Dad when he sticks out her tongue and that is always sure to leave her giggling.

She's gotten all of her molars at this point and I can see her canines are all trying to come in, which I can tell sometimes bothers her. She seems like she is growing like a weed and she continues to have long legs and be fairly lean. Her hair is growing, especially in the bank, and it looks like a little blond baby mullet at the moment, but I am not quite ready to cut it.

I am having so much fun watching Hannah, she has an adventurous and independent streak and is truly a ham, and does everything that she can to get those around her to laugh. I am looking forward to more adventures and more laughs with her to come.