dear baby a,

happy 13 month birthday! even though it's a little late, you still turned 13 months and i'm still writing about it, so that's all that counts. 

so much has happened since your birthday. if i didn't know any better, i'd think that you knew you turned one because you're a completely different baby than you were on that day. it's so weird. the day after your birthday, we flew to utah and were there for three weeks. in that time, you learned a few tricks, turned into more of a little sassafras than you already were, and became the cuddly baby that i've always dreamed of having. seriously. random cuddles for no reason at all have made my day. along with these few things, here are some other things that you've been doing:

-you aren't nursing anymore! i think this is my favorite milestone out of all the things listed here. i will admit that i was super sad at first. we all know that breastfeeding wasn't the easiest thing in the world for either of us, so it really surprised me at how sad i really felt. but that quickly went away when i realized that i can go anywhere for any length of time and not have to worry about you starving to death. i can even leave you with other people and not have to stress about whether or not you will take a bottle and such. it's the most liberating feeling in the world! that doesn't discount how awesome it was to be able to do it for an entire year though. i know a lot of moms that aren't able to at all and i definitely don't want to sound ungrateful in any way. but still. i can't believe the day has finally come, even after it being a whole month later.
-you're officially walking now! whether it's free standing or holding onto a chair, you definitely walk more than you crawl. you're the cutest little walker I ever did see.
-you're a little chatterbox, too. you have mama, dada, hi, and uh-oh down pretty well, but you're always down for repeating other words that we say. even when you get them wrong. which you do. every single time.
-i don't know if it's all the travelling we have been doing for the last month or what, but you have picked up the habit of crying every time i put you to sleep. i hate it! i miss you going down without a peep and it breaks my heart to let you cry, but you and i both know you need the sleep. it's given us an excuse for lots of extra cuddles though, so things could be worse.
-every time you see a comb or brush, you have to comb your hair with it. the same goes for having to put bows in your hair when you see them or shoes on your feet. you're such a girly girl.
-speaking of which, you're completely enamored by jewelry. it's one of my biggest fears that you will rip my earrings right out of my earlobe. you love holding onto my wedding ring, too. soon enough, i'll have to buy you some jewelry of your own!
-you still love books. if you're fussy or i need you to sit still while i change your diaper, i can give you a book and you will immediately start laughing. it's adorbs. animal books are your favorite.
-actually, animal anything is your favorite. you can't see an animal without pointing it out to us. you definitely took after your mama there.
-you like to pick flowers. your uncle michael made the mistake of showing you how to do that and i can't put you near flowers anymore without you destroying them.
-you love babies. which is weird because you're kind of a baby yourself. there was a 15 month old little boy at the airport and you would squeal every time he got near you. you little flirt.
-you started giving kisses and they are so stinking cute! at first it was just a big, open-mouthed mess, but you've gotten the closed-mouth part down finally and you do it even when we ask for it. or when we don't. tonight for instance, dad and i were laying on the ground while you ran around being your cute self, when you walked up to dad, gave him a kiss on the nose, them the mouth, then walked over to me and gave me one too. it was pretty much the cutest thing i've ever seen.

even though i'm sad when i look at pictures, to see the little baby self you're leaving behind, i'm loving the little toddler girl that you're becoming! i love you, sweet pea.

-mama