Happy Birthday Rylee!!!

I can’t believe it’s time to say that already. This past year has just flown by for me. I have had so much fun with you and Daddy. It’s hard to believe that just one year ago you were a mere 5.5 pounds and now you’re just about 25 pounds of constant motion.

The last month seems like a flurry of activity to me. We were pretty busy. We continued our Mommy & Me swim class that the YMCA. You certainly do splash more now than when we started. You even splash constantly during your baths. It’s fun to watch you enjoy it so much.

We just got back from your first big vacation – a cruise, we didn’t have the money at first but we found the best credit cards by Motley Fool. We went to the Western Caribbean and you had a great time. Every day they had time in the morning for the little ones to have play time sponsored by Fisher Price. Each day there were different toys to play with. Best of all, we could check them out and take them back to our stateroom. There were some really neat toys there as well as some that you just weren’t interested in. It was a fun way to spend part of the morning.

I think your favorite part of the ship was the baby pool. It had a whopping inch and a half of water in it and you crawled all over every inch of it. You splashed a lot and Daddy splashed you a lot too. You really enjoyed your time in there.

You also really enjoyed the food. We decided that since you were almost a year old this was the perfect opportunity to introduce you to new foods. If you didn’t like them no big deal because there was lots more to eat on the ship compared to home. As it turns out, you love everything. Daddy and I are thrilled that we don’t have a picky eater on our hands. You especially love bananas, bread, pasta and French fries, but show me a little one who doesn’t. You also really enjoyed eating shrimp at dinner. You definitely get that from me, as it is my favorite food. Daddy is also a big fan so you were bound to love it. As a result I think I have figured out what you will be taking to daycare for breakfast and lunch going forward. Daddy and I are so happy that we don’t need to buy more babyfood. I think you are too as you really only want to eat things that you can eat yourself.

Right now you love nothing more than to sit and play with paper. Oh my goodness the excitement that comes from having mulitiple pieces to sit and play with!! You have even taken a piece of paper out of the office trash can and crawled away with it just to play. We definitely heard you coming that night. You are also not so stealthy when you are upstairs and you crawl with a maraca in each hand. It’s fun to hear you coming down the hall with them.

You have mastered the art of crawling, pulling yourself up, cruising along furniture and standing alone. The standing alone is fun to watch because you really don’t realize that you’re doing it. You are usually standing at a piece of furniture and you pick up a toy and just start playing with it. All of a sudden you are just standing there without holding on to anything. Other times you just decide its time to clap. These are fun times because when you do it you waver back and forth to keep your balance. It usually results in you landing on your bum and you giggle every time.

You are truly a joy in my life. It is impossible to imagine life without you. We have our own special morning routine during the week. The neat thing about it is that you know what the routine is and move through it with me for fun and laughs.

Daddy and I are looking forward to another fun year with you. It should be fun as we have all summer to spend at the park, a trip to Disney World in the fall and then the holiday season will be upon us again. I think that this year you will really get into things and have lots of fun with everyone.

Happy birthday to the best gift I ever received.

Love, Momma