Miss Reece Turns One

Just hours old.

Reece turned one on October 5th, and I cannot believe that my tiny little newborn is now a big one year old girl! Things that Reece can and loves to do:

• Walk EVERYWHERE. She started walking just after she hit 11 months, and now refuses to use any other mode of transportation. 
• Play peek-a-boo. Her favorite time to do this is when I'm folding laundry. She'll pick up a piece of clothing, hold it up over her face, and leave it there until I say, "Where's Reecie?" And then she'll drop it down and giggle hysterically. 
• Read books. She has recently started showing a great love for her books. Her favorites are "More Spaghetti, I Say!", "The Tickle Tree", and "Thankful Together". She always picks those out first.
• Say "hi" to anyone she sees. This is a new word for her, and she thinks she's so cute when she says it. And that's because she is. 
• Tell me "all done" and "please" using sign language. She will do these two signs for anything she wants or doesn't want.
• Play with our phones and computers. 'Nuff said.
• Swing and go down the slides at the park. She thinks it's the funniest thing in the world for her to push herself down the slide and have me catch her. I love her giggles.
• To be outside and explore. She loves to be in the grass and pick flowers or weeds and bring them to me. 
• Taking baths. Bath time is one of Reece's favorites. I'll bring her into the bathroom with me, and as soon as I push the shower curtain aside she squeals with delight and stands next to the tub on her tippy-toes trying to touch the water that's coming out of the faucet. She loves, loves, loves taking baths. Until we actually have to get down to the washing part.

Reece is still one of the happiest girls I know! She is rarely cranky unless she's hungry or teething. The poor girl is bumping her head constantly because she's still perfecting the art of keeping her balance, but she's a tough cookie and only cries when it really, really hurts.

At her one year well child checkup she weighed 19.1 pounds (17th percentile) and was 29 inches long (45th percentile). She's a little lady! I was really surprised when they told me she was only in the 17th percentile for her weight. I could kind of tell she was a little under average for height, she's shorter than most other babies her age. But I thought she'd be right at average, if not over, for her weight because she's always hungry and eats so much! But, overall, she's perfect. The bad part about her appointment was that she had to get six shots. The poor girl had band-aids all over her legs.

Waiting for the doc.

Her band-aid covered legs.

My dad came into town for General Conference, so he got to be here for Reece's birthday! It was so much fun to have my dad here, and Reece loved getting to spend some time with Gramps. Conference was SO good, as always. I definitely caught more of this October's conference than last year's, considering that Reece was born the Friday night before conference.

Taking a birthday nap with Dad during Conference.

We had her party after the Priesthood Session of General Conference. My mom and little sister Morgan were on FaceTime on my dad's iPad while we opened presents. Reece was not into opening her presents at all. She would help me tear off a big piece of wrapping paper and immediately lose any interest in continuing to unwrap the gift. So, I sat and undid all the wrapping I had done the night before. But she got SPOILED ROTTEN. Seriously. Spoiled.

This is only around half of what she got. I could only fit half of it on there. Evidence that she got spoiled rotten!

After presents we got her birthday cake ready, with just one lone candle, and sang to her. She had no idea what to do with the candle and just wanted to play with the flame. So we blew out the candle for her. I was very proud of this cake that I made! It's chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I made the cake and frosting from scratch, and then piped the little swirls onto the sides. However, I used the frosting from the store to do those, so they were a little melty and hard to do with such soft frosting. But I had fun, and it's the first cake I've ever made that actually looks halfway decent!

She definitely loved her cake. She devoured it! The ice cream was a different story. It was too cold for her, so she just threw it on the ground with a disgusted look on her face.

I'm so sad this one is blurry! But, it was too cute not to share.

She was a complete disaster when she was done eating, so Derek held her by her armpits, I took off her diaper, and we put her in the tub for a bath.  

She's in the middle of telling me "all done".

CAKE BEARD!

By the end of the night, my little girl was exhausted and very ready for bed. She fell asleep with her arm slung around one of her new presents from Grandma and Grandpa Thetford (a monkey that plays lullabies and night-time sounds), running her hand up and down the monkey's face.

The next day, after the sessions of General Conference, we went to the nature park and walked around. It was a beautiful day, and all the trees are starting to turn those bright shades of red, yellow, and orange that make fall my favorite season.

It blows my mind that Reece is one. It doesn't feel like it was a year ago that I was spending my first few days with her. I distinctly remember my mom rocking Reece in the glider when she was just four days old. She looked at me and said, "Just wait until she turns one. You aren't going to believe how fast the time went and you won't have any idea where that year has gone." Well mom, you were spot on. Derek's and my love for Reece increases with every day that we spend with her, and since day one we haven't been able to imagine life without her. She is our everything and the perfect addition to our family. 

Happy First Birthday Reece Averie!