I’m not usually one to write monthly letters to my kids, or even blog much about their stats as they grow, but for some reason, I feel compelled to write about my baby’s first birthday.

One year ago, right now at the time of post publish, my second baby girl was born by repeat c-section. You can read a little about our first days here.

From the moment contractions started as I was being prepped for my c-section, this little girl has known what she wanted and does whatever it takes to get it. She has developed language skills unlike any other I’ve seen at her age, constantly batting at hands and faces and handing us items or food, squeezing and reaching to get hugs, pulling hair and screeching to display displeasure.

She loves so fiercely and lives so happily that when she IS down (for example, when she suffers from allergies like the rest of the family), you just want to snuggle her until that grin returns to her face.

She’s SO DIFFERENT than her older sister. They are about as opposite as siblings can be, and I’m beginning to think this will work out in their favor as they grow older. So far, the story is that my older daughter will be a cheerleader, dance team member or color guard member, while the younger will have a sport for every season and a dress for every occasion.

Where my older daughter sleeps with a traditional night light, has a long cuddling bedtime routine, and must listen to the radio as she slips off to dreamland for 12 hours, the younger wants the equivalent of a big hug, a tight tuck (she prefers to sleep in her infant car seat), and sweet dreams and lasts about 6 hours before she needs something. Oh, and did I mention darkness? And white noise? These two should NOT be sharing a room, but we’ve managed, through much trial and error, to make it work.

Before she turned 6 months old, this second daughter of mine did things only to prove to me that she wasn’t developmentally delayed. If she was supposed to do something at 2 months, she did it all day the day before her 2 month well visit – and then only rarely after that. I remember this most vividly with rolling. By 4 months, kids are supposed to be able to roll at least one way, and while she’d made attempts, she hadn’t proven that she knew how. Until 2 days before her well visit, when, with much grunting, groaning and fanfare, she decided to spend most of the afternoon rolling.

Once she hit 6 months, it was like a switch flipped in her brain, and from then on, she couldn’t be stopped. She went from rolling to sitting to crawling to cruising to walking in just over 3 months. At 9 months 2 weeks, she took 3 steps on 3 different occasions and since then, has chased her sister at high speed.

While she is slightly behind in her ability to chew solid food (we’ve only just started chunky food), it hasn’t kept her from eating, or keeping the nickname “Chunky Monkey” – which is kinda sorta where I got the theme for her party from. It happened to be a super cute theme that blends well with the fall season. 😉

The amount of love that I have for these two very different girls of mine is astronomical. For every frustrating thing they do, they come back with a hug or snuggle that manages to right all the wrongs. I foresee many wonderful adventures with these two in the coming years.

But today? Today I wish my Emma Bear a happy first birthday. It’s been a heckuva ride, and other than a little more sleep, I wouldn’t change any of it.