12 Months

This year has gone by so fast and it has been so fun. I have loved watching the boys with their baby sister. Of course they have their moments of fiercely protecting their towers and "set-ups" but they are so good with her. They are protective of her and they love her so much. She is a lucky little girl to have them around. :-)

Aria is so different than the boys at this age. It's so funny how little personalities can be so different from so early on!

Tyler was my adventurer. He was determined to find a way to do whatever it was he was interested in and he was fiercely independent. He walked at nine months and he didn't care if he fell flat on his face. He would quickly get in as many steps as possible until he fell and then he would get right back up. He learned to walk before he could stand up, so every time he fell he had to crawl over to something he could pull himself up on and try again.

Carsten was always determined to not be left out. He was feeding himself with a spoon ridiculously early because he was not ok with Tyler having one if he didn't. He walked at ten months and he followed after every single thing Tyler did. He completely skipped baby toys because he was only interested in what Tyler was doing. He was (and still is) a hilarious mix of sugary sweet and super spunky.

Aria is the total opposite of both of them. She is such a Mommy's girl that it's funny. She is not walking yet and I'm pretty sure it's simply because she doesn't want me to think she doesn't need to be held and carried around. She could do it if she wanted to. Over a month ago she took a few steps to me because she was mad about something and she didn't even realize she was doing it. Last weekend she walked five or six steps a few times to my mom because she had crackers, but she hasn't done it at all since. She's just not interested. And every small step she does take is very slow and cautious. It's adorable.

She is extremely curious so she still gets herself into everything and we have to watch out for things with her that the boys never even thought about. Carl had to replace all the cabinet locks in the kitchen because she broke them and was always trying to pull out glass bowls. But I can have her out in the kitchen and not even worry about her going down the stairs. She isn't the slightest bit interested in going down there without me, even though she can see the kitchen toys and she loves being down there. So she won't walk and is extra cautious about even letting go of something when she's on the floor. But the day after her birthday she started climbing on furniture - she stands up and lets go to clap her hands and bounce up and down. So she is less afraid to do crazy things in places where she could actually fall and get hurt then she is standing on solid ground. She also figured how to climb in and out of baskets that day and did it over and over again. She was so excited.

She seriously loves her tea sets. It was not even worth the attempt to take these without them. It would not have gone well. :-)

Aria is the funniest mix of a total girly girl and a girl who clearly has two older brothers. She's half dainty princess and half dinosaur with a cute little roar. She plays with cars, but instead of driving them she hugs and kisses them or puts them in her princess castle.

She says hi, bye-bye, peek-a-boo, mama, dada, uh-oh, ow and cheese (for a camera). She claps, blows kisses, waves, gives high fives and loves to put her baby in it's crib. She dances when she hears music and gives the very best snuggles. She is obsessed with shoes. I was getting shoes for all three kids the other day and while I was trying them on the boys she completely lost it because she wanted a pair too. When I chose her pair she held onto them the whole time until it was time to check out and she lost it again. She also loves to try to do things herself. She tries to put on her own shoes and hats, comb her hair, put headbands and bows on, and brush her own teeth.

She does not like to be in trouble. If she does something she shouldn't (like throw food off her high chair) and Carl tells her no she completely melts. Her little lip starts quivering, her eyes tear up and she falls apart. It's heartbreaking, but it's also really hard not to laugh.

At her twelve month appointment she was 18 pounds, 2 ounces (25th percentile) and 29 inches (40th percentile).

Giving her baby kisses!

Helping me clean out cabinets.

K-State baby!

So sweet.

Aria Grace, we are so thankful for you. You are absolutely precious. We all fell in love with you the moment you were born and you bring so much joy and sweetness into our home. You are an incredible blessing to us.