The Pulleys: little miss turns one

Can I believe it? No. I just cannot believe it has really been a whole entire year since we first welcomed Elise into our family. And, now I absolutely understand why people have a hard time with their youngest child growing up too fast. It's a bummer. Especially since she has been my most enjoyable baby. But, this is a fun stage, so I will try to cherish this moment before it flies by like the rest of them.

Elise has been such a welcomed change from my three rowdy boys. I know that makes is sound like I didn't enjoy my boys when they were babies (or even now). But, I did/do. I adored each and every one of them. But, I feel like I have finally caught a break with Elise. You see, I once was that type of person who thought they knew everything about parenting before even being a parent... I had a lot humility and empathy to learn. I wouldn't be able to count how many times I thought, "I'll never do that with my kids". Ha! What a silly, stupid girl. I now fully realize the ignorance of my ways and have been thoroughly humbled by my three beautiful, bouncing boys. Now my thoughts are more along the lines of, "Oh, you poor mom, I am sorry for what you are going through, right now." Thankfully, Heavenly Father must have felt I had learned my lesson and sent me my mellow little girl. Insert *sigh of relief*. Here are a few things about my sweet little miss:

1. Have I mentioned she's sweet? Well, she is. Not that there are many ornery one year old's out there, but I'm pretty sure she is sweeter than most (at least more so than her older brothers were - no offense to them). It makes her pretty dang easy to love.

2. Part of her sweetness is the fact that she is very easy going. Her brothers can smother her with kisses or knock her over with their hugs, but she (usually) doesn't seem to mind. I often have to tell Luke to ease up with her (as his love and playfulness can get pretty overwhelming), but it doesn't seem to bug her - instead, she is usually laughing.

3. The biggest difference in Elise compared to my boys, is how content she is. She doesn't have to constantly be getting into EVERYTHING like my boys did (do). She doesn't have to constantly climb onto EVERYTHING like my boys did (do). She has been able to climb up the stairs for a while, but doesn't feel the constant need to revisit them. And, she lasts a whole lot longer on my lap or in my arms than my boys ever did. It has been such a nice change!

*Update: I spoke too soon. Over the last few days, Elise takes any chance to climb the stairs. Once she gets to the top, she start hollering until I come and get her down. Anytime she climbs up onto something, she will just holler until someone helps her off.

4. I absolutely love how she sucks her lower lip and plays with either my hair or her hair when she's tired or just needs some soothing. It doesn't bode well for my ever so fancy ponytail, which is usually half pulled out. There are a few things about babies that you realize you will miss terribly - especially when you realize you are experiencing it for the last time... this is just one of them.

5. She adores her brothers. Like I mentioned earlier, she never seems to get sick of all the love and play that they force upon her. They crack her up at times, which is just about the cutest things ever. I love seeing the love they have for her. I sure hope it continues down the road.

6. She gets super excited when she sees someone she recognizes from afar (especially her brothers and dad)... I love it. She laughs/squeals/yells out of excitement.

7. She loves saying "hi" and waving to people. It's pretty cute. She doesn't seem to have much stranger anxiety - none of my kids have. And, although it has sometimes made me feel a little insecure about how much my children might love me, they have usually made their preference for me clear at some point. Whew.

8. She says, "ooo" a lot lately... super cute. It makes it seem like everything is fascinating to her. She also does it when she's starting to upset, which is also cute.

9. Oh yeah, she's also really sweet.

So, I asked my boys (and niece) at the table what they love about Elise. Here are their answers:

Halle: "She let's me carry her."

Isaac: "She's my sister."

Luke: "I do funny stuff to her and she laughs. And, I love her."

Adam: "She's super cute. She waves at me and says, 'Hi daddy, and bye daddy.'"