One Year

I feel like a "one year" post needs to start with "can you believe it??" or "this year has flown by!" or "my baby is one??!" But really, other than her lack of hair, I am not really having a hard time accepting the reality of this milestone.

This has been such a FULL year. By far, the best year of my life. So much has changed for me in the last year...going from working and commuting to being home all day, being a "mom" in addition to a wife, and a million other little things it would take me forever to mention. I have learned more about myself in the past year than in my life, and I am more comfortable with myself than ever before. Motherhood suits me very well. I LOVE my days with Maggie. I hope that this next year (and Baby #2) continue to grow me and change me for the better.

But enough about me! Let's talk about the Mags!

Everyone needs a Maggie in their life. Scratch that. Everyone needs MAGGIE in their life. Her humor, charm, curiosity, happiness and friendliness are effortless and contagious. She is constantly making others smile or laugh. I love that she spreads joy wherever she goes.

It has been so fun to watch her personality develop, yet at the same time, not change very much at all. It's like all of these traits have always been there and they are just becoming more and more established. Just this weekend Gary and Maggie were playing peek-a-boo/hide and seek with the bedroom door and in between bursts of giggles and laughter we were commenting on how funny and fun she is...and it made me so excited to continue to watch her grow and develop...how much more funny and fun she will get when she begins to understand things and do more things for herself.

I love her attention to detail, mainly because in all of the ways people say that she is similar to me, this is a trait directly inherited from her father. I get such a kick out of watching her meticulously examine things with her thumb and forefinger or flip things over and over and over again.

I also love watching her explore and try new things. Once she has thoroughly examined something, she will not proceed unless she is absolutely certain of what she is doing. (Something she inherited from both of us) For example, she walks behind other things or holding on to things better than any kid I've seen, but has yet to take more than a step or two. I'm not worried at all - Maggie will walk when she's good and ready.

She is determined and strong-willed, but so far this has not resulted in too many tantrums - she just makes it clear exactly what she wants...mainly opening doors and drawers or telling you to walk her places (in which she raises her arm straight out as if to say, "GO!").

She is already a social butterfly, and gains so much energy from other people. She loves going places and doing things, not necessarily for the experience but for the interactions with and observations of others. She'll make friends with anyone who looks her way, whether they want to or not. She is especially drawn to babies and other kids right now. I'm hoping the infatuation with babies continues for a few more months...

Ah! How can you describe a person in one post?? Hopefully I've written just enough to remember her at this stage and my thoughts after her first year.