Bogle Family Blog: One is the happiest number

Today is a momentous day.

A day that people will talk about for years to come.

A day that people will recall fondly during times of blog famine, and they will reminisce about that glorious day.

That day when I actually blogged about something that happened THAT day instead of several months earlier.

Oh.

And that day when Lily turned the big “1.”

That was a pretty cool day, too.

So cool, in fact, that words fail me.

…

Hahaha…like I’m really going to let you off that easily. :-)

I think I need a blog slogan.

Something like, “The Bogle Family Blog: Freezing up internet browsers with our ridiculously long posts since 2009.” What do you think?

Seriously, though, trying to figure out how to write this post about such an occasion as Lily’s first birthday is a little intimidating. I honestly don’t know how to put it into words. I am overwhelmed by my love for this little being who I met face-to-face exactly one year ago today. This being who has grown before my very eyes from what I lovingly called, “a lump of baby” to a vivacious, hilarious, and engaging little bundle of energy. A lump, she is no more. Although a part of me misses that snugly little lump of baby who would nap on my chest while I delighted in her boneless wonderfulness, I do NOT miss the lack of sleep and feelings of “oh-my-goodness-why-are-you-still-crying-and-why-are-you-not-asleep-yet-at-2-in-the-morning-and-oh-my-goodness-did-you-just-spit-up-or-leak-through-your-diaper-again-and-maybe-if-I-burp-you-or-give-you-the-useless-gas-drops-one-more-time-you-may-actually-sleep!?!?”

Yeah, I don’t miss the lack of sleep. Or walking on the treadmill with her in a Baby Bjorn in order to get her to nap. Or bouncing her (this baby did not like to be rocked…that would be to easy and comfortable for her parents who earned incredible calf workouts from bouncing on their toes for several months) in a dark bathroom with the fan on for white noise. Or tiptoeing around the house in abject fear that I would awake the sleeping babe and have to restart our cycle of feed, “play,” try to get her to sleep, keep trying to get her to sleep, think you have gotten her to sleep and then at the last minute she wakes back up, and then finally getting her to sleep for a brief nap.

But it was worth it.

Every sleepless night, every stinky spit-up moment, every diaper disaster, every dollar spent, every tear cried, every grocery store “mommy, I want to gnaw my way through that cheese and I will scream if you don’t let me” tantrum, every aching calf muscle, every pain and soreness. All worth it. Because I love this babe beyond all belief.

Last night, I held her in my arms as it was time to put her to bed, and I will tell you that it crossed my mind that if I just didn’t put her down, then she couldn’t go to sleep and March 9th just COULDN’T slip into March 10th. She wouldn’t grow up on me, and she could stay my baby forever.

She is bald, so it’s not too much of a stretch.

But that’s not the way it works, is it? She is growing up every day, the way all of us did before her, and she will break my heart a million times in the years to come, but her Daddy and I will always love her no matter what. It’s a funny thing, parenthood. You want to hold on to them, but without holding them back.

So what did I do last night? I sang “Baby of Mine” to her, I got choked up like I hadn’t in months, I kissed her goodnight, told her I loved her, and I put her to bed. And guess what happened? March 9th DID slip into March 10th, and now my precious BABY is not such a baby any more.

On paper.

Because seriously, she is still bald.

And she still acts like a baby at times (OMG – you mean she doesn’t smile ALL THE TIME?)

So really, today is not a bit different from yesterday. Being “1” doesn’t make her suddenly understand sharing or the meaning of the words, “no, Lily, you can’t gnaw on that frozen turkey in the middle of the grocery store.” She doesn’t understand why we need to put shoes on our feet instead of in our mouths, and she doesn’t understand why food should stay on the tray when it looks so much more beautiful on the kitchen floor.

But she does now know what a cupcake tastes like and how it looks on her eyelashes. And she also has her very own MP3 player.

So that’s something, right?

:-)

Yes, as much as I miss the bitty baby stage, I am genuinely loving the stage she is in now, and it keeps getting better. Watching her try to communicate with us is amazing, and watching her light up when she realizes she can make us laugh can just take your breath away. She toddles around here more often than she crawls, and we already have a goose egg on her forehead to show for it.

Yes, my baby is growing up, and I’m so happy. For her and for us. She is already an incredible little girl, and I can’t wait to watch and help her continue to grow and develop into the amazing person I know she will become.

And now, my friends and family, I will bombard you with WAY too many photos (a nice change, at least, from WAY too many words, right?).

I proudly present:

A (Birth)day in the Life of Lily Grace Bogle

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We began our day with blueberry pancakes! Yum!

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Then it was time for our weekly picture in the chair that Mommy has grown to hate after seeing it in pictures every week for the past year.

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Then she was off! (It was mid-week last week when she seemed to finally decide that walking is faster than crawling, and usually chooses to walk instead of crawl)

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Then she played the harmonica.

Or maybe gnawed on a rubber duck. I can’t remember which.

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Then she contemplated the backyard while waiting for lunch.

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Later, she got an extra special snack time. A sugar cookie, milk, and watching TV (which she never gets to do). Apparently she’s a fan of Yo Gabba Gabba.

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After her evening nap (which we woke her from around 7:10 PM…yikes!), it was time to admire her balloon by pointing at it and yelling, “ba!” repeatedly!

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But we decided the wagon and presents would have to wait until after dinner.

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After dinner, Lily had her first cupcake.

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She dove right in without hesitation, and LOVED the icing!

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She pretty much ate icing by the handful, and then picked the whole thing up trying to eat it, but dropped it.

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Truly her mother’s daughter, she later decided to eject some of the bothersome “cake” material that was getting in the way of the icing.

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Still digging in.

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In this pic, I was trying to capture the icing that’s on her eyelash at this point.

Michael was trying not to freak out at the stickiness of the situation.

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I kept trying to get a picture of her face without her fingers in her mouth, but she wouldn’t take them out.

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I’m apparently quite dumb, because I wondered if it was because she is teething (which she is, but she usually will take her fingers out of her mouth for a minute). And then I realized she just didn’t want to stop licking the icing off of her fingers. Oh, you are a “Baby of Mine.”

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“Duh,” Mom.

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Earlier in the night, Michael and I had thought maybe we’d skip Lily’s bath to give her more time to play with her new toys.

Then we took a look at her and realized that that was not really an option tonight!

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After bath, it was time for presents. One of her favorites is a baby-friendly MP3 player loaded with her favorite songs. Most are kids songs, but her very favorite song is “Fireflies” by Owl City. I totally owe you a video of her dancing. It’s awesome.