Hazel is One

Little Miss Hazel.

Dad's "bug."

From the very beginning, our hearts burst with love for you,

 but, oh, you have shared so much love with us.

I recall writing that we all felt special and would often say to each other, "Hazel loves you!"

Right now you love Mommy most.

(And don't you forget it.)

It reaffirms her so much.

Thank you for the joy on your face and in the sounds of your voice when you see her.

She cherishes you and this phase of your life.

*****

Hazel turned one year old.

I seriously feel like I brought her home from the hospital six months ago at most.

I vividly remember so many details of the days surrounding her arrival.

Hazel is a really good baby.

Joyful, happy, smiley.

She squawks and quacks and cackles.
And offers kisses freely.

She is starting to pick up on what we say and do.

Just yesterday I was reprimanding a child while pointing and talking sternly.

Hazel was in my arms and started pointing and chattering.

Today Dad was giving a command to a child and started clapping while saying, "Jammie time."

Hazel started clapping while mumbling.

Hazel says about five words,
but I usually know what she wants when she wants it.
She can be very loud, especially when she's around her siblings.

She sleeps in her car seat, in the ergo carrier, and her crib

and is very flexible with her schedule.

(Third child problems...a phrase I use a lot with her.)

She loves her binkie for sleeping, but the goal is to get rid of it soon.

Sleeping through the night has never been a concern and

--knock on wood--

we haven't had to do any sleep training with her.

On the rare occasion when she does wake up in the night,
it takes her about an hour to go back to sleep.

Hazel is anxious to play with her siblings.

If they are outside, she wants to go outside, too.

Henry and Maggie love to play with her.

Henry is often asking if he can push her in the swing,
which she has just recently warmed up to.
She used to hate getting pushed anything more than a tap.
Below you can see her holding on for her dear life.
Henry pushed her often enough that now she laughs and is getting used to the roller coaster feeling.

Hazel loves to eat dirt.
As opposed to picking it up in her hand, she face plants it into the dirt/sand and eats it.
She is a good eater, though.
(I guess if you like dirt, you'll eat just about anything.)

Hazel loves Henry, but gives the "help me" look when he is loving on her.

He is so affectionate and loves to smother her.

His embrace these days consists of two hugs and a kiss:

the first hug is on the right side with his cheek touching yours, 

then another hug on the left side with his cheek touching yours.

Then a peck.
If you're Hazel, you get several pecks and a couple more cheek touches.

It's really adorable but Hazel can only stand so much.

When I ask Henry to play peek-a-boo, he is quick to oblige.
When I ask him to push her in the swing, he happily responds.

He really, truly, loves his baby sister.

Hazel and Maggie are cute together, too.

Maggie loves to talk baby talk with Hazel.
And Hazel lets Maggie love on her however Maggie likes,
which happens infrequently but is always softly.

Their sisterly love is blossoming.

I'm thinking/hoping the three will be besties for life.
So far, so good.

I keep thinking Hazel is close to walking on her own, but she has yet to take off.

She has taken four steps on her own as of Easter.

It is so rewarding to see her excitement as we cheer her on, clap for her, and praise her on her efforts.

It reminds me of this talk.
Watching this milestone is hands down my favorite one to witness.

Hazel loves to be around me most of the time,

but is good to play on her own as well.

Her favorite thing to do to occupy herself is to find something like a basket of clothes 

and pick out one piece of clothing at a time. 

Our movie cupboard is also a good entertainer.

Hazel can be shy at times,
but is usually vocally and physically expressive.
She likes to be on the go unless she's in my arms.
She makes the cutest squinty-eyed face that I have captured several times.
Everyone laughs which prompts her to continue pulling the face.

Hazel seems to be long and lean, although I am not one to keep track of statistics.

She has beautiful blue eyes

and the cutest dimple on her right cheek when she smiles big enough.

Her hair is showing a similar growth pattern (i.e. a lack of growth) as Maggie.

She is stunningly beautiful inside and out.

*****

We celebrated Hazel's birthday with her cousin, Zach, who was born two days after her.
(More to come on that trip.)
I had a blast decorating cakes for the party
and Hazel did not disappoint with her cake-eating abilities.
She ate so much frosting that she got a little sick afterwards.
It's kind of a cruel transition from eating no sugar to a pound of butter with loads of sugar in one sitting.
But she survived the event.
Zach was a little more cautious but still seemed to enjoy his cake.

It was so fun celebrating these babies first birthdays together.

Happy first birthday, Hazel! We love you more than you loved your birthday balloons.