HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Yesterday, March 22, was your dad's birthday! And it was just the best! You spent part of the day with grandma and grandpa, where you made the world's most adorable birthday card with grandma...

Those hands are "actual" size and popup off the page. Ha! So awesome!

We spent the evening at grams and grandpa's house where daddy, grams, grandpa and uncle Taylor cooked on the grill, while auntie Gina, cousins Isla and Louis, you and I played and caught up. The cake I made for your daddy was a total disaster so I brought some cupcakes instead! They were fun. Of course, grams and everyone outdid themselves with the menu (per usual). It was wonderful.

It was really amazing seeing you interact with your cousins this visit, Maeve! They spark something inside of you that nobody else does! You try so hard to keep up with them, and love when they read to you and play with you. And they cracked you up a dozen times last night! It is just so special, and reminds me of my own childhood and my most special memories growing up with lots of cousins. Even though it was past your bedtime when we got home, you were still excited from the visit! So much so that you tried to do flips on our bed before going down for the night! It's almost like you didn't want the night to end.

So your daddy is one year older! And what a year it has been. I've watched him love and take care of you (and me) so naturally and gracefully. I've always known he would be a good dad, but wow, has he exceeded my expectations times a million. You already know how special he is, but I'll just remind us both here. He's the best person I know. I truly don't know how it is that I deserve him. That's the purest way I can describe him. And just so very very loved by so many people. We are so lucky to be his.

THANK YOU GRANDPA!

This is an old photo (from your first Thanksgiving) but I love the way you are looking at your grandpa and how happy he is holding you! Today I woke up not feeling well, and you are still getting over your first ear infection. Daddy had to go to his office for most of the day to work on a network show, and grandma is in Florida, so grandpa volunteered to come over and save the day! In addition to playing with you for hours, he read books with us, cooked us dinner, put dinner in the oven for daddy so it would be ready when he got home AND made us strawberry shortcake! It ended up being such a fun day! Thank you grandpa!

YOU, LATELY

It's been a while since I posted an update on little things in your world, like the new words you're saying and what you're currently digging, so here goes...

• You love rides in your carrier (seen above), a birthday gift from grams and grandpa, and you seem to be growing inpatient with walks in your stroller. It's almost as if you're outgrowing our strolls, like you'd rather be walking yourself.

• Your favorite words are "dog" and "dada."

• Yesterday you said "squirrel" for the first time while we were playing on the front porch and watching a couple of them playing in the yard.

• Your favorite books, as of late, are The Secret Garden and Where is Baby's Christmas Present. You still like The Little Mermaid and Madeline, but these first two mesmerize you.

• You talk all the time.

• You still love swinging on the front porch, but you love crawling around on the porch even more than swinging!

• You have two new words that you repeat throughout the day...one sounds like "Eye-yuh." We are still trying to determine its meaning. :)

• You have a new baby in your swim class! Now the class includes you, Sasha and a baby girl named Carter.

• You hate being buckled into your carseat and fight it with all your might. 

• You understand what "no" means.

• You give me a kiss when I ask for one!

• You crawl so fast!

• Your favorite place to crawl to is the dog food bowl in the kitchen floor!

• You are good with inflections...when you're babbling throughout the day, we can tell when you are asking us something or curious about something based on your sounds and inflection.

• You have started "singing" along to music. You like Adele a lot.

• You wave and clap all the time.

• Your favorite food is bread.

• New, random food you like: Mujadar (lentils and rice).

• Your deep laugh is our favorite.

• You got your first ear infection this week. :(

• Your grandparents are your favorite people, it seems, outside of mama and dada.

• You continue to be the best girl and the light of our life!

FIRST BEACH TRIP OF THE SEASON

This week you and I escaped for 24 hours to grandma and grandpa's beach house. It was all very spontaneous as grandma just happened to be going down for a short trip to meet grandpa at the beach house before a longer trip to Florida, and the timing was right for the two of us to join. And while I was on the fence about being so impulsive while I hurriedly packed your tiny bag Tuesday night, I'm so glad that we made the trip. It was just perfect.

We missed your daddy lots, but wow, what a day Wednesday was. The sky was clear, the temperature was perfect, and the beach wasn't too windy. And while it was your third beach trip, it was so different from the last (when you were just seven months old). Watching you soak everything in like a sponge was magical.

I love the view from grandma and grandpa's balcony. The houses straight across are so happy and festive. But more importantly, grandma and grandpa's place is situated on a narrow strand of land so that if you look to your left you see the beach and if you look to your right you see the sound. Blissful.

Exploring.

Morning snuggles on the balcony.

Playing on the beach.

After spending the first half of the day on the beach, we ventured to Beaufort for a stroll (we spotted several ponies!), then Morehead (where we stalked an enormous ship and watched as servicemen and women loaded it with shipping containers) and finally Fort Macon (where we watched some boats pass). You slept through all three of these stops. Ha! The beach is tiring!

Right before we headed home late Wednesday, I carried you down to the beach. It was just you and I and the sound of the waves crashing in the background. I sat you in front of the dunes and just let you explore for about twenty minutes. You quietly ran your hands through the sand over and over again. And the breeze blew through your blond hair. Maeve, it was one of the best, most peaceful moments of my life so far. Watching you, with such wonder...I will never forget it! I love you so much!

ps: We are going back to the beach next weekend, with the Dansby family! Can't wait!