You Are 1

Lucille Alice Jones turned 1 this past week. Her grandparents are in town from England, so we had a small get-together on Friday, her actual birthday, and then hosted a Birthday-Party-Holiday-Party-Open-House-Extravaganza on Sunday. It was a festive few days perfect for a social little babe who went from infant to toddler in one quick second.

For the afternoon party, she and her sister got to wear their Christmas dresses (sent from the East Cast at different times, thanks Mom!) a bit early.

Penny got to eat cupcakes one night, and cake another. Add in her chocolate advent calendar and this 2 year-old really has had Christmas come early. I have no idea why she chose not to use a fork for the cake; usually she's so intent on staying clean! It really reminded me of this classic Brady Bunch episode.

So many friends, new and old, stopped by. It was so much fun. Lulu took a power nap in the middle of the party, and friends who had a look around our new(ish) home got to see the birthday girl sleeping (with her little ruffly bum up in the air- so cute!) in her crib as part of the tour :). 

She was soon back in action, getting passed from lap to lap.

On Friday, her real birthday, we opened some gifts. Well, Penny opened the gifts for Lulu, which she really enjoyed. She played with the gifts too, but that's only to be expected. Lulu doesn't mind, and it sure makes the fact that it's Lulu's birthday, a bit easier for her sister.

There's so much I could say about Lucille Jones as she turns 1. I could write about how she's hardly cried the entire year, about how she's gone from a really relaxed baby, to a busy toddler who wants nothing but to be surrounded by playmates. I could tell you how different this baby has been from her sister: how social, how fun-loving, how daring. I could tell you the hard parts: the ongoing feeding and sleeping issues that are in no way severe, but have made for an incredibly tired 12 months 

Mostly, on the occasion of her turning 1, I feel an excitement about the future with Lulu. I loved baby Lulu (and boy, wasn't she cute) but I can't wait to see her personality develop even more. I can't wait to see who's in there, what she might say to us, and how she might move through the world. We have our hunches about Lulu, but I think she might surprise us all. You can watch her face for just a few minutes, and see that she's got a lot up her sleeve. We can't wait to see what that is.