{one}

To my darling little princess,

Happy 1st birthday sweetheart!

One year ago today we welcomed you into our lives. It was a long day. The boys were all very quick labours - I had never experiened pre-labour before. When I had the first tell tale signs of your arrival at 3am, I expected to have you safe in my arms by 7am - not have to wait until 7pm! Having to wait around most of the day with just niggles, and hints that you were on your way was a totally new experience for us. Luckily once you finally decided to get things moving it all happened very quickly.

With a cold shiver I still remember those first few moments after you were born with the cord wrapped tightly around your neck and body. The terrifying feeling of helplessness and fear that settled over us, enveloping us like a heavy fog until we heard your sweet cry for the first time. Then the feeling of total euphoria as we were able to hold you,

and delight in the fact that we really did have a little girl to complete our family. A beautiful little pink bundle we named Jacinta Grace.

You slotted right into family life. Our lives were definatley busier with a fourth child, but it was a wonderful, although at times exhausting, first few months - you completed our family, in a way we never thought possible. The touches of pink here and there, the girly toys, clothes and colours are slowly spreading through our home and lives. Even the Christmas tree got a girly make over of pink, lime and silver to celebrate your first Christmas! The cars, trucks and motorbikes that have surrounded us for so many years, can now be found laying alongside a pink teddy or a dolly. The clothes line is often filled with pretty girly colours, the splashes of pink are evident everywhere. Its funny, I never really liked pink that much. After having three boys I was used to being surrounded by almost every colour except pink - after just one year of having a little girl in the house there is definately a disproportionate amount of lovely shades of pink everything to be found in our house!

At {one} you are ....

...breastfed 3 times a day

...LOVE food, and eat three meals a day, and snacks when ever you see someone else eating.

...refuse to drink any sort of milk/formula/expressed breastmilk from a bottle or cup

...drink lots of water from a non spill sipper cup

...wear cloth nappies during the day, and disposables at night

...wear mostly size 0 clothes, but are starting to move into some of the smaller size 1 tops.

... love playing with the boys toys

...dont crawl yet. You get yourself from sitting to your tummy, can roll over, wriggle around in circles on your tummy, will lay on your back and push along with your feet to move like an upside down caterpillar.

...you looks so cute when you drop your lip and start to grizzle. ...Love holding our fingers and pulling yourself to stand. You think you are very clever when we help you stand up to hold onto something all by yourself....enjoy music and dancing. We went to our first session of music & movement last week and you LOVED it.

...give us the biggest, happiest smiles when we get you out of bed in the morning, or walk into the room

...sleep in a cot, with your dummy and your pink blankie. Sometimes teddy sleeps with you too. You often end up sleeping on your tummy with your legs wedged between the bars. Isaac tells me you need rescuing if he finds you like that!

...have so much fun laughing a giggling with Isaac.

...Enjoy going walking in the pram. You very rarely sleep in the pram though. You like to watch whats going on around you. The other day we went walking and you stuck your arm out to wave at every car that passed us. It was so cute.

...wave goodbye

...say mummum, dad, dadadada, tickletickletickle. Im noticing new sounds all the time

...you love to play games like round & round the garden, this little piggy and peek-a-boo

...you have a morning breastfeed and then usually go back to sleep for a couple of hours. You have a couple of other sleeps during the day as well.

...You tend to be a bit clingly to me at the moment. You cry just about everytime I walk away from you.

...You are a very patient model for Mummy as she tries to learn to use her camera better

...You are a still bit wary of other people, but will go to them as long a Mummy is close by

...You are still more of a baby than a toddler. Im trying to hold on tight to your babyness, one

day I know I will wake up and it will be gone forever

...You are Daddys little princess - he hates to hear you cry. I think you will have him wrapped around your little finger for ever!

...you flap your arms around when your excited, can clap your hands, and you tug at your ears when you are tired.

...you have a bad habbit of grabbing faces and hair

We celebrated your first birthday with a party on Sunday.

It was a lovely afternoon.

Pink decorations, pink food, a pretty butterfly cake, and family and friends to help us celebrate all the wonderful things this last year has bought to our lives. You had a wonderful time, lots of yummy foods, and you were very spoilt with lots of beautiful gifts. I had lots of fun planning your 1st birthday party. Hosting a girly, pink birthday party for my own daughter was one of those things, that until we discovered we were expecting you, I never really thought I would get the chance to experience.

Happy 1st Birthday Jacinta

May your life be filled with happiness. May you always know how it feels to love and to be loved. May you follow your dreams, and achieve your goals. May your life be rich in the things that really matter.

I love you forever my darling little girl

Mummy xxxx