a trip around the sun.

i still can't believe our little baby penelope elizabeth is a whole year old. 

we celebrated with cake and ice cream after thanksgiving dinner. her actual birthday was black friday and we let her have the whole day - so we played, took naps (two!), ate, cuddled and played more. it was perfect and everyone had a relaxed, happy day. totally fitting for our sweet girl. 

i have been thinking about her and all the things i have to report for weeks but just haven't gotten to the computer to do it. (also, the computer has gotten reeeeeaaaaaallllly slow lately and it takes all day to do one post.) but! our poppy is so important to us and i want to remember her days as a little ball of fun.
(i'm posting some pictures today from an impromptu photoshoot when she decided to wear my hat. party pics will come later.)

her official appointment was yesterday. she weighs 21 lbs 2 oz and is 28 inches long. she wears clothes that ellie wore last winter, when ellie was almost 2 (and poppy was born). she still has very little hair, but what she does have is a light brown - i think my same color. i'm excited to see if it turns out curly or straight. her eyes are a dark, beautiful brown and she has long long lashes. she has all eight front teeth. she looks just like a miniature daddy and i love it. 

she is a happy girl. teething, getting a bump or a certain demanding big sister can naturally set her off, but she's back to normal after a couple of hugs and kisses. she has a little internal timer and will walk around the house whining and bumping into things when she gets tired, right on schedule. she has the best laugh and smile. it's still easy to get a smile out of her just by looking at her. she also likes to give mischievous looks and wiggle her eyebrows. she loves to give big hugs with pats on the back and some really sloppy kisses. she always says "maaah!" when she puts her big open mouth on your face. she is a snuggle weasel and sometimes i will be holding her on my lap or in my arms with no memory of how she got there.

she says a few things:

"dada" of course, "mama" sometimes.

"mamamamama" usually means more or that she's hungry.

"uh-oh!"

"mine!" i wonder where she learned that?

"walk" when she wants to get down.

"wowowowowow!" or "ooooowow!" when she's interested. 

she says "yum num num" when she's eating.

she shakes her head yes and no, nods yes most often when we ask if she's hungry. 

when she is in trouble and i say "no no" she smiles and shakes her head no at me. 

she has her own little language and jabbers all the time. she has a really deep voice. it kills me, it's so funny. when she is being tickled she has a little machine gun laugh and it is so low. she also has a lot of squeaks and squeals and groans. her cries sound extra pitiful to me - she's a screamer. she likes to growl for fun and makes little ewok noises, cheeps and chirps. she loves to make people laugh, especially ellie.

she thinks she is a big kid like ellie. she follows her big sister and wants to try everything. she loves to play! she could play happily all day, but unfortunately she has an older sister who hates to share (we're working on that). poppy holds her own, though, and i have caught her tackling ellie or pulling her hair. sometimes it these girls act like professional wrestlers and it drives me crazy. 

she still gets up at least once a night to eat and loves food. she is a great eater and will try just about anything (as you saw in the thanksgiving pictures). sometimes when we are eating and she wants to eat she comes up and pretends to chew loudly until you share. some friends brought lasagna the other day and she ate three, maybe four helpings. she maybe ate more than i did! she's always moving, though, so she needs the energy. she climbs like crazy and loves to run. when anyone opens the door to the house she wants to go "out!!" and often brings me her shoes so that we can go outside. she loves playing with judge, too, and gives him lots of hugs and kisses. 

she loves: 

balls

sitting in chairs

hugs

sleeping in the big bed

milk time

doggies

playing at the playground

walking/running

getting dressed/dressing up

hamming it for the camera

smiling at everyone

oatmeal

playing cars and making "vroom" noises

reading stories
waving bye-bye

butternut squash risotto

listening to music

dancing/waddling

doing pushups with daddy

riding in the car

playing toys

tickles

making messes

yo gabba gabba

getting into cupboards

shoes

helping/sharing

she dislikes: 

being buckled (after she's buckled she's fine)

having her nose wiped

when anybody takes something from her (especially if she isn't supposed to have it)

waiting for dinner

(can you spot the ellie?)

we love our girl so much. she's such a great little person. 

i can't wait to see what the next year brings.

poppy boo, we love you!