Miss Bee turns one year old on Tuesday.
If I said I couldn't believe she was turning one already, that would be a lie. She's been acting like a one -- or two -- year old for quite some time. So, it's about time.
(She moved that box over to the table so she could climb on top of it.)
(I turned my back on her at the park for 1 minute and she had climbed to the top of the playground equipment.)
(She climbed up onto Joseph's bed and then reached into her drawer and pulled all of her pajamas out.)
(Climbs everything she can.)
Last year, on Valentine's Day Sunday, we came home from church and had a nice Valentine's meal of filet mignon and twice-baked potatoes. (This year, we celebrated v-day a day early, came home from church and had an even nicer dinner of rib-eye and roasted garlic mashed potatoes, thank you thank you Pioneer Woman.) I was a few days away from my due date, but a few days past when I would have had a c-section had I chosen to schedule one, and so was still feeling "overdue." I vowed I wouldn't go to church again/leave the house till that baby came, and I was doing everything short of castor oil to get things going, but I wasn't optimistic I was going to have that baby anytime soon. I went to bed early that night and woke up at about 1 in the morning and knew (I'll spare you the details) that it was d-day.
I woke up Todd and told him it was time to go the hospital; he wearily asked if we could wait till morning. I said no, and called the hospital to check just in case, and they said yes indeed I needed to come in. After trying 3 different people we finally found somewhere to take Joseph at 2 in the morning and headed to the hospital.
Well, we should have known after the delivery experience that our little girl is a stubborn one. She was happy as a clam to stay lodged up way high in my ribs and so after a lot of laboring and no progress, we had to do another c-section. We also definitely should have known she was stubborn when she hollered and pouted after being forcibly (and there was a lot of force involved, it was not pleasant, like I said she was pretty determined to remain in my ribs) removed from the womb. But we were glad she made it safe and sound.
She forgave us for birthing her eventually.
I cannot even say how grateful we are to have her in our family. I don't think a day goes by when it doesn't strike me how completely awesome she is and how I can't imagine our family without her. Although she is stubborn -- a stubborness that leads her to pitch a mighty fit when something doesn't go her way, and that propelled her to walking at 10 months and climbing all over everything and getting into all kinds of mischief -- she is also one of the happiest little things you will ever see.
When Todd blessed her, he said that she had been blessed with a "happy spirit." At that time we knew she was a pleasant, good-natured baby but we didn't realize how happy she really is, (almost) all of the time, and how she radiates that happiness to everyone else.
(Blessing day with mom and the grandmas.)
She is an independent little thing, and will spend hours and hours just playing on her own, content to wander around the house looking for interesting things to play with/climb on, and needing very little attention. (Except to intervene during power struggles with her brother, though they get along quite well in general and love each other fiercely.)
She loves people and will beam at anyone willing to look her way. She is by all accounts a gorgeous little baby, what with the curly hair, bright blue eyes, long lashes, perfectly chubby cheeks and dimples, etc. But it's really her radiant and happy personality that make her especially lovely.
We love Miss Bee!
