The big O-N-E!

This has been an incredible year watching Naomi grow into the intelligent and charismatic little girl that she is. I've debated how to conclude this blog, as the big O-N-E will mark my final post about her as a baby. I thought about reminiscing about the day she was born, or pointing out how much she's grown over this year. I suppose what i'm trying to say is, this is all common knowledge. We all have seen how fast the year has gone by and the incredible milestones with it.
And so, I will conclude with the latest milestone, and perhaps biggest of them all- her birthday! I was fortunate enough to find the time to get some photos of her a couple of days before her birthday, which I will post below. I enlisted the help of my good friend Channa to make her a spectacular cake for her smash cake photos. We invited a small group of friends to our home to gather and watch her open her gifts and smash her first birthday cake.
As guests arrived, She toddled around proudly in a tutu I made her. She was a bit groggy, as we gave her a nap to ensure she would cooperate with 'the plan'. We had Jack Johnson radio playing in the background and let her loose on the set. She immediately tore the bow off of the gift we had for her. She wasn't really aware there was much more to the process... so, with a little help, she eventually got through the wrapping to unveil her teddy bear. After a wardrobe change, it was cake smash time.
This was where the surprise happened for me. Knowing my little food-crazed Noni bug, I expected total chaos. She was actually quite the lady about it, and proceeded to sample the cake slowly. It was just about as big as her, which was very cute. After a solid five minutes of her picking at it, we decided to call it a day.
All-in-all, it has been an incredible year. Watching her grow and learn has been a gift we receive every day. There have been hard times, challenging times, and times where sleep was much deprived. BUT, there have also been some amazing times--- big, little, and everything in between things that just make it all worth it. One day we will look back and read entries of this blog and remember how little she was. Until then, I will stop hoping time goes by slower and remember to enjoy it now.

11 months and counting...

One more before ONE

We started this month with probably the biggest milestone yet- Walking! As you read from last month, we had a few steps here and there, but now we are at full on walking, even running status! While she was at it, she added climbing into the mix, sending up baby gates throughout the house. She's quite vocal about her displeasure with being contained. In fact, to quote her daddy, "I talk incessantly about nothing!" Right now, everything is "mom" or "mama". Everything and everyone is "mama". Can't say i'm disappointed with that ;)
Walking and talking aren't the only things on her agenda these days. She's really into clapping, pointing and dancing right now. You can easily engage her in a little dance session, which is quite amusing I must admit. She gets going where she bends her knees and moves her little body while clapping and smiling, it's really something. Best of all it usually closes out with a bang- literally. She looses her balance and falls then starts laughing.
I'm sure you are all eager to hear about her first Christmas. We had the tree protected by a baby gate, which for the most part was sufficient. She was able to occasionally reach through and get a-hold of a gift- which she would promptly take off with. We always ask her "where were you going to go with that?" I suppose the only answer would be something along the lines of, "Why, somewhere for me to tear into it of course!". Unfortunately our efforts to protect the tree weren't cat-proof. One instance of the cat vs. tree included an event in which the cat somehow flung herself into the tree causing an ornament to slingshot off of it onto our glass entertainment center, instantly shattering everywhere! What a mess! 
As for Naomi, the morning finally came that she got to tear into gifts to her hearts desire. She was able to help open a couple of gifts, but all of the shiny paper, new gadgets, ribbons and assorted other stimulus were too much to bear! She was bombarded with things to mess with and you could tell she wasn't quite sure what was the most exciting part of all of it. After it was all settled and done, and most of the temptations were cleaned up, she did find herself enamored with her pile of 'talking books'... somehow, these magical books knew just what to say to her (for those of you who are lost, i'm referring to record-able books read by family members and replayed by baby by opening the pages). 
I'm once again sliding this post in slightly late, as I've had it half-written for some time now and needed to simply finish it and move along. We all know next month is an exciting one, and likely my last blog post on 'Baby LaClair' as she will be going out with a smash- into a big, bright birthday cake!