Hi, sweetie!

We've had another fantastic month together. I can't believe that you're all ready one year old! It all has really gone by so quickly.

Since last month you've started getting more mobile. You crawl really fast and am always surprised by how well you get around. You're pulling up on everything and have started to walk along the furniture now. You'll even let go with one hand, but haven't dared to stand on your own just yet! You love to walk around and hold my hands and you seem so proud of yourself when you do! I'm really excited for you to start toddling around here any day now!

You're still a big pig and will chow down on anything that comes near you! Some of your new favorites are lasagna, strawberries, scrambled eggs, and corn. You've also started drinking from a sippy cup (just water right now), especially at night. You have no problem with it and will even use a straw in a cup, too! I love that right now you'll eat anything and aren't picky about what we put in front of you.

>

I feel like you've really opened up more this past month. You have such a great little sense of humor and make us laugh all the time. You copy Rhino and you both laugh at each other. Your favorite game right now is shaking your head and then laughing. It's simple, but so silly! It started in the car when Rhino was shaking his head against the back of the car seat and you thought it was hilarious! Then you shook your head and Rhino laughed at you. It went on and on for quite a while! Now you'll just sit and shake your head any time and laugh at yourself. I love it!

You experienced your first Independence Day this month, but it wasn't actually all that exciting. We went to church, which you're enjoying more lately, but skipped out on all the Fourth of July festivities. The whole family took a long nap, actually! There were supposed to be fireworks that night, but they were postponed due to rain. They fired them off on Monday night, but it was well past your bedtime and you were all ready asleep. We'll catch them next year, though!

We're excited to see your Grandma and Grandpa really soon! They're going to spend your birthday (I'm writing this just a tad early!) with you and we're going to have a nice party! You'll get to go down to Tokyo for your second time and we have lots of fun things planned. It will be so nice for you to finally meet your Grandma and Grandpa and I know they will be so happy to see you!

Happy birthday, sweetheart! We all love you so much and look forward to another amazing year.

Love Always,
Mommy