Birthday Babe.

Dear Brooke,

Happy, happy birthday to our sweet baby girl! You're the happiest, funniest, craziest little thing we've ever met. You have more personality than we ever could have imagined. We spend all day laughing with you, as you are a hilarious little monster. This has been a huge month for you developmentally. You've mastered walking, you've starting talking so much more (both speaking and signing), and your intelligence is shining through. You've definitely grown, as you've moved into size 5 diapers and some of your 2T clothes are getting snug. You finished out your first year with 8 teeth that you love to use to chew your way through just about anything. Even though you're a full-fledged toddler now, you'll always be our baby. Here are a few of your favorite and not-so-favorite things this month.

Favorites
Milk - Boy do you love your milk! Your face lights up when you get to have a bottle of milk. You can both sign and say the word "milk", and you start asking for it first thing in the morning. It has become your answer to the question "Brooke, what do you want to have?" You're completely switched over from formula to whole milk, and so far you seem to like it! We're slowly easing you into drinking it cold (vs. the warm formula), and then we'll transition you out of bottles. I don't think you'll mind, as long as you get your milk! You'll have strong bones, indeed!
Walking - Crawling is 100% a thing of the past. You walk EVERYWHERE now. We officially deemed you a "walker" a couple weeks ago when you figured out how to stand up in the middle of the room by yourself. You still fall down sometimes, but it's becoming less often every day. When you're really excited to get somewhere, you even pick up your speed a little bit into a jog. This new-found freedom is awesome for Mommy & Daddy, too, as you're even more independent now. (On the other hand, you move so much faster so we have to be a little quicker ourselves.)
"Using" Utensils - If you're resisting eating something, usually we can offer it to you on a fork and you'll eat it without reservation. You love to "use" utensils. You haven't figured out how to stab food with your baby fork, but if we do it for you, you can get the food into your mouth. And you're super proud of yourself when you do it, too.
Opening Presents - If we've learned anything these last two weeks, it's that you love to open presents. You can open a present from start to finish all by yourself, it just takes you a few minutes. You aren't one of those babies that just wants to play with the box; you appreciate the gift inside, too. Sadly for you, most of your gift-opening for the year happens in the same week (and that week is now 51 weeks away!)
Saying "hi" - You are the friendliest little thing. You say "hi" to anyone that will listen. It has evolved into this sweet little girly "hi" versus the low-pitched boyish greeting we used to get. One of Mommy's most favorite things is when you tap her on the arm and say "hi", simply to get some attention for a minute. Or when you'll say "hi" to Daddy as many times in a row as it takes to get his attention. So so cute :)

Not-so-Favorites
Cake - I don't think anyone would have ever guessed that you wouldn't like cake. You adore food, especially sweet foods. Fruit is your favorite. You have devoured the few cookies you've been given. You said "more, more, more" to get more of Grandpa's cinnamon roll on Christmas morning. But cake? You can live without it. Perhaps it's the mess of having to feed yourself that you dislike. Maybe we should try cake on a fork...
The Vacuum - Though you're slowly getting over this fear, you've never been very fond of the vacuum. We're not sure if it's the noise or the actual machine that scares you more. Lucky for you, it's underused in our house.
Baby Food - You are so over baby food. We've replaced strained fruits & veggies with real ones and baby cereal with Cheerios. You eat what Mommy & Daddy eat at meal time. And when we go out to restaurants, we sometimes order you your own kid's meal (grilled cheese is your favorite so far!) We love offering you new foods to try and figuring out your tastes.
Wiping Your Nose - You do not like having your nose wiped. And you make it very difficult to do, by abruptly turning your head in avoidance. Thankfully, you haven't had too many colds yet, but when you do, it's the saddest thing for Mommy & Daddy.
Olives - It's practically a Reeder family tradition to love olives, but you are NOT a fan. (And Mommy doesn't blame you...)

This has been, without any doubts, the greatest year of our lives. You bring so much joy into our house, Brooke Mary. Mommy & Daddy have never known love like we now do with you. It's hard to believe that your first year is over, but we are beyond excited to see how your 2nd year will shape up. So happy birthday, baby girl. And as Mommy tells you every single night as we head up to bed, we love you times a million zillion.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy