The Big Birthday Girl!

That's right. It's official. I no longer have a baby. Brinley is ONE YEAR OLD!!! I honestly don't know where this year has gone. I mean, Anika and Avery have grown up fast, but Brinley's little life is flashing before my eyes! I feel like I should still be pregnant with her, yet here she is, a big girl.

Brinley is crawling all over the place, and fast. She is officially a climber and LOVES to make her way up the stairs. She is also a pro at getting onto the girls' beds. (They're still in toddler beds, so it's pretty simple.) Although Brinley's red hair is coming in beautifully, she seems to have hair-envy, because every chance she gets, she is pulling her sisters' hair. Avery is totally patient with it; Anika, not so much. Brinley waves to everyone and has the cutest little crazy-wave. She just flops her arm all around. She has found her voice and is particularly good at belting it out during the quiet times in church. She has seven teeth; four on top and three on the bottom. Her favorite foods include macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, and strawberries. To be honest, I haven't found anything that she won't eat yet. She's a great eater. This kid is a rock-star when it comes to sleeping. (I feel bad writing that in case some of you mommies reading this have tough sleepers.) But Brinley loves her nap time, which is usually between two and three hours every afternoon, and she sleeps from 8:00 at night to 7:30 in the morning. Um...ANGEL-BABY! I have told Sean multiple times that if I could be promised that my future babies would all be just like Brinley, I could have 10 more. She has been such a joy. Brinley is the happiest, most relaxed baby I have ever been around. I could just eat her up, she's so cute! The best time of day is when Daddy gets home. She will either start crawling super fast towards the door (if she's on the floor) or she will look at him, smile, then put her little face down like she's trying to hide from him. It's adorable.

There's isn't much more than I can say about my Brinley-girl other than I am totally and completely in love, and so is the entire family. She has brought such a special spirit into our home this year, and I can't imagine life without her. I look forward to many wonderful years with this special child and feel so grateful that Heavenly Father sent her to me!

I LOVE YOU, BRINLEY!!!

It seems like she should still look like this...

or this...

or even this...

How did we get to this already?!