THE CARVAJALS: One Year Already?

We can't comprehend how one year with our Sugar Bear has already flown by. We feel like it was only a few months ago that we brought that sweet tiny newborn home from the hospital. Once we got past the first few months of some rough reflux, she has been an easy-going baby. She goes with the flow, happy to be playing by herself in her crib, upstairs dancing with her big sisters or just hanging out in the Bjorn while we attack some errands.

Some of G's favorite toys are empty water bottles, half-empty wipee packets, and shampoo bottles. She has a ton of hand-me-down toys from her sisters and the neighbors but she chooses the less-obvious. Some of her favorite pasttimes are pulling all of Mommy's shoes from the shelves and stirring up the water in the toilet with her hands. And if she is nowhere in sight, she can be found in our closet pushing all the buttons on her noisemaker and dancing to the different sounds. Why is the noisemaker in the closet? Because that's where she takes her naps so that the big girls can make all the noise they want all day.

She has brought each day so much joy. She keeps all four of us laughing, especially her big sisters who can't get enough of her. They love kissing her, watching her hit all her milestones, playing with her, toting her around like a doll and just being silly with her. With two big sisters that always want to hold her, hug her, carry her, and tumble all over her, poor baby has had to learn to be strong and brush things off and keep on going when she gets knocked around. Maybe all that has helped her hold her own weight and gotten her walking even before her birthday hit.

What are some of our favorites with her? Kiss her squooshy cheeks, feel her head nestle in the crook of our necks when she's tired, watch her bop up and down and twirl to the music that her sisters play, and see her eyes light up when we walk into her room in the morning.

This little girl is fearless. New experiences are exciting to her, not intimidating. She doesn't wince at her Daddy's ridiculously loud sneezes that the neighbors can hear, the blow dryer or the vacuum zooming around her feet. She wants to hold the hand-vac instead of running away from it when Mommy uses it to suck the crumbs off her shirt before they hit the floor. Not only is she fearless, but she's also fast. She's hit the gross-motor milestones faster than her big sisters did, and she made it from the downstairs living room to the upstairs playroom in the minute it took for me to take the trash to the curb and back. (I panicked when I look all over the downstairs for her, and then I heard her and Victoria laughing upstairs...phew!) And I think she may be the tallest one as she has stayed at the 80th percentile for her height. "Watch out big sisters, not only am I strong, but I'm gonna also tower over you soon enough!"

Sweet G, I thank God that He has let me be your mommy. I know God has great things in store for you this next year. Sugar Bear, I love you with all my heart.