12 months old. 1 month late.

I saw this idea on a friend's blog and have been mentally composing this for a month now. In a few months or more, I won't remember the specifics of Charlotte at 1 year, so I'll put them here to remind myself.

Charlotte-

-You smile all day long. Friend, stranger, or even foe, you make eye contact, then beam with delight, often brightening someone's day.

-You love to eat. I haven't found anything you'll refuse yet. I've even given you things like pickled ginger and you didn't flinch. I started to worry your taste buds didn't work, but you do prefer foods like spaghetti, lo mein, pears (whole), and frosting. You appear to be over your dairy allergy and to celebrate you've enjoyed foods like ice cream and macaroni and cheese.

-You are a messy kid. You have no sensory issues with getting dirty. You embrace whatever you're doing with no concern for neatness.

-You love books. You pull them from your toy box and book shelf, then bring them to me or Daddy with a grunt. Your favorite books include many pictures of babies.

-You are independent. You want to try everything by yourself first- eating, climbing, cruising. But you know where to go when you need some help. You look straight at me or Daddy and put your arms up to say "Hey! Get me!".

-You are fantastically communicative. You can sign milk, more, all done, water, and eat. Your favorite things to say are Hi, Bye, Dada, Mama (finally!), and Elmo.

-You are Elmo obsessed. We watched a you tube video in bed one morning so I didn't have to get up right away and now you're hooked. As soon as you see my (or anyone's) phone, you start shouting "ELMO!"

-You love to play with your friends. When I say the names of your friends, you speed-crawl to the door and start to bang on it as if to say "I'm ready! Let's go see him!" (almost all of your friends are boys).

-You love to "go out". As soon as you hear those words, you try to climb into your stroller to get out of the house. It doesn't really matter where we go, but you're much happier outside among all of the people.

-You are a fantastic sleeper. You sleep at least 12 hours at night and you still nap twice a day. Your friends are trying to peer pressure you into just one nap, but you're holding strong. Which I support.

-You are a gift. I wake up in the morning and stare at the monitor anxiously waiting for you to start squirming. Never would I have imagined being so happy to start my day at 7 AM, but getting to spend all of my time with you makes it worth it.

Happy 1 year Charlotte Grace! Even if it is 1 month late.