I've had a whole month now to let this sink in. Addison is one! I have a one year old! My baby is no more. I felt so emotional leading up to it, not being ready to part with all her baby ways...but actually I forgot just how fun one year olds are and so I am just loving this stage of her right now!
She is such a little character!
All smiles...
and curls, and teeth!!
How I love those curls! Although we have been trying out some new hairstyles recently to try and tame the mane!
Such as this teeny tiny cutesie ponytail!
This topknot!
and these adorable bunches!
I'm also rather partial to her in her little summer hat!
or in her mini bike helmet!
There were a few firsts this month...like Addi's first visit to a farm park! Considering how much she loves animals we knew it was going to do down well. She was very excited about seeing the real deal,
and got stuck right in there petting the bunnies too!
She also got her first taste of a wave pool as we went for a family swim at Dunbar. We sat in the shallow end and she kicked her legs so furiously as the waves came crashing down where we sat, it was so sweet.
Easter brought some of her first tastes of chocolate, and as the smile will tell it was a definite thumbs up!!
She loves little spaces, she pulled herself up on a dining room chair one day and then was hiding out under the table, peeking out at me, feeling very pleased with herself! She was just so cute that I had to take a pic!
She is always pulling herself up on something these days,
and it always takes me back a little at just how grown up she looks standing around!
One day at the garden centre, she was crawling around whilst I browsed some things on the shelf and next minute she had pulled herself up next to the bath bombs and she proceeded to pull them out one by one and then drop them on the floor!! Luckily there were no breakages, but she was so pleased with herself! Cheeky monkey.
She also loves to be outdoors! At her parents evening, the nursery staff said being out in the garden area is her favourite place to be!
Whether she's pounding the pavements in her trike,
or picking bluebells,
or sifting through woodchips,
or cruising along her favourite sensory bridge at the park!
or checking out the rhodos with Mommy!
Everything is better with some fresh air according to Addison Mae...which is perfectly appropriate considering I named her 'Mae' as the meaning is 'goddess of spring growth' because everything started blooming the week she was born, and so it goes without saying that she's a nature lover!
She has really begun associating things with one another this month. I love when she surprises me with something I wouldn't expect. I was putting away some laundry in her room one day, and she was playing on the floor. She saw what I was doing, and promptly pulled her socks off and then stood up and put them away into the same drawer I was putting things into! Super clever!
She has really been into stacking cups this month! She loves nothing more than to knock a tower down if you build it for her,
but she has also gotten really good at putting each of the cups inside one another too.
Books are still her favourite, she will want you to read her a whole stack of them and then as soon as you are finished she wants them read all over again! Last month it was all about flaps, but this month she is really into pulling things up and pulling things out so the Bizzy Bear books that her big sister was in love with have become her new fave too! She got a whole pile as presents from Granny and has been loving them ever since. She has also become very sure of the books she wants you to read and those she doesn't, if you start reading a book she's not interested in she will just grab on to it toss it to the side and then hand you the one she actually wants!
One of her favourite new toys this month was her ball pool from Auntie Alli, ball pools are always the best part of soft play for her...
so we knew this was going to be a big hit! and of course big sister is loving it just as much!
Speaking of big sister, there is still a lot of love between these two, but also a lot of bickering. It seems these days that whatever Addi is playing with, suddenly Ella wants it and visa versa!
but hey ho, that's the way it goes with siblings isn't it!
One minute they want matching pigtails,
and the next minute it's all tears and tantrums!
and then smiles and snuggles again!
and then Addi's into Ella's things again and the whole cycle starts over!
but one night Ella wanted to help feed Addi some of her milk, and was very disappointed when she discovered that Addi feeds it to herself now! She was so sad about it, and went into her room and said a little prayer asking if she could stop being sad about Addi growing up! it was so cute! She told me that she just wishes Addi was still a baby and still needed our help to do everything!!
What cuties!
and of course what's a 12 month blog post without some birthday hoopla!
Addi got into the birthday swing of things pretty quick, and loved being sung to in the morning when she woke up.
and really enjoyed ripping all the paper off her presents - more so than the presents themselves of course! Although Ella picked out this jumper all by herself as her gift for Addison and so was extra excited to give it to her!
and matching dresses from my lovely friend Laura were a win all round!
and what's a birthday without a party!
We celebrated with a Peter Rabbit theme, and I got this adorable little Peter Rabbit dress made for Addi, complete with Peter Rabbit bow! Didn't she wear it well!
and I was thrilled with these Peter Rabbit balloons! and of course the traditional monthly photo bunting that I love to do at the girls parties.
Addison was seriously loving the balloons, and then stayed up for at least 2 weeks after so they were like the gift that kept on giving!
Ready for some party fun to begin!
What a spread!
The birthday girl seemed very pleased with her lunch!
and then onto the best part - the cake!
Seeing her little face as we sung happy birthday was probably my best bit of the day! She seemed to really know that something special was going on!
Then on to the scoffing! She really devoured every last crumb, which made this cake loving Mama so happy!
Games were played!
Like pin the tail on the bunny!
and we introduced Addi to the delights of pass the parcel. Paper she was allowed to rip? she was down for that!
and so that rounds up the whole last month.
In the past 12 months of being Addison's mom, I've learnt that not every day is joyful (far from it! especially those never ending months of sleepless nights!) but that you can choose to find a joyful moment in each day.
We waited a long time for her to join our family, and so I have tried so hard to savour all the moments - because although people warned me, I never realised how this time around time would go at double speed! so I've tried to just be present in every stage and just breathe in that baby smell of her skin when she's fresh out the bath, and soak in those cuddles on my chest, and the sparkle in her eyes when she masters a new skill!
You are so loved, Addison Mae, and you make our world brighter and more wonderful because you are a part of it!
I can't wait to see who you become over the next 12 months!
