Mercedes is Turning 1!

Today is my Baby Girl's birthday.  My little Cede, my Little Miss M, my Pretty Lady, and my Little Caboose (Joshua started to recently call her that).  She's a girl of many nicknames, and we love her!  I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.  I was just holding her in the hospital room, after having met her for the first time--and then I must have blinked--because here we are celebrating her first birthday one year later.  Seriously, where did the time go?  Where?!  It needs to slow down just a little so that I can enjoy my baby as a baby just a little bit longer.  Try as I may to savour it all, time keeps pushing on. 

When I found out we were having a girl, I was beyond excited.  I started imagining all of the late night talks we would have about the boys she liked.  I began to imagine all of the advice I would give her about dating.  I started to learn how to make flower bows to put in her hair (little did I know it would be a LONG time before she would even have hair).  And, I couldn't help but see all things pink.  We already knew we would name our first girl Mercedes.  We knew that from the time Jon Mark and I had seen The Count of Monte Cristo.  I knew I would often call her Cede (Sadie).  But, I didn't know she would collect so many nicknames along the way.  We called her Baby Girl almost more often than we called her by her real name for the first several weeks after she was born.  And, I would often chant Cede, Cede pretty lady.  But, perhaps my favorite nickname is Caboose.  Joshua loves trains and he began calling her Little Caboose and I just thought it was an adorable nickname.  The below picture is one of the only pictures of her as she was swaddled.  She hated being swaddled and I gave up the fight about three weeks after she was born.  She used to wiggle and wiggle until she was free from the blanket.

When she was first laid in my arms, I studied her face to see if she looked like me.  Maybe if I squinted I could see a resemblance, but for the most part I thought she had her own look about her and I thought she was beautiful.  I immediately fell in love with her eyes.  I love her almond shaped, blue eyes with long eyelashes.  They laid her on my chest right away... before cleaning her up.  I always thought that would gross me out (all of the blood and cheesy looking stuff).  Joshua was clean before I held him because my body was shaking so badly I was afraid I would drop him right after he had come out.  When they laid her on my chest, I was surprised that it didn't make me feel faint at all (I had fainted twice during labor, and once when I stood up for the first time, but not while I held her right after birth).  I remember thinking that the cheesy stuff that got on me was very much like a thick lotion, and I rubbed it into my skin instead of wiping it off.  I loved her smooshy face.  Then I remember getting scared.  She wasn't crying like she should, and she looked quite limp.  More nurses were called in, including the NICU head nurse.  It scared me more than you know, because I thought my baby girl was slipping away.  They pumped her little body and pulled out a lot of fluid.  When the crying came, I thought it was the most beautiful sound and I didn't want her to stop crying again. 

She was so good at nursing, and she plumped up right away.  I nursed her laying down most of the time because she seemed to do it better that way.  I loved stroking her face while she nursed, even during the wee hours in the darkness.  Family members told me not to nurse her so much, but I loved it.  I loved holding her and feeling needed, although at times it was challenging with a toddler around.  Mercedes quickly took a liking to her thumb and she hasn't removed it from her mouth since.  She was a very content baby and liked being held.  I always said she was fat and happy because she wanted for nothing. 

Sometimes I feel guilty because I don't have the luxury of spending oodles of alone time with her, so she doesn't get my one on one attention as much as Joshua did.  But, I try to do my best and I love how she loves her big brother.  I love watching the two of them interact, but I do enjoy the rare moments when we are alone as well.  I love it whenever Mercedes picks up a sippy cup and discovers that it has traces of juice in it instead of plain old water.  Once that's discovered, she doesn't let it go until she has sipped it dry.  I also love how she never crawled the traditional way.  She decided early on that she didn't like her knees on the ground so she pushed up and and has bear-crawled ever since.  So, here we are a year later.  I haven't gone to her appointment yet to get the official stats, but she has weighed 23 pounds for quite awhile (since she was like 9 months old) and so I am guessing she is still 23 pounds.  Here are some of her favorite things:

1. Her thumb

2. Eating--she tries to eat everything.  When she's on the ground outside, her favorite thing to try to eat is leaves and rocks 

3. Joshua--especially when he acts silly, he is the one who made her laugh for the first time, and we discovered that she shared her brothers cute gut-laugh

4. Playing with her daddy--peek-a-boo in the car is a new fav.

5.  Being held while walking (I don't know why, but sitting and being held just isn't the same)

6. Hot dogs, bananas, cheese, and blueberries are her favorite foods

7. Playing in the bathtub--I think it's funny how she tries to lick/suck the water off of her fingers

8.  Jumping on the bed is probably her most favorite thing to do in the world, she laughs so hard when she is on the bed

9. Saying "Hi, Dad"

10. Walking while assisted with one hand

We love you, sweet Baby Girl!  Happy first birthday!

Here are some cute pictures of Joshua as well.  Lindsay took most of the recent pictures in this post.  Thanks Linds!