The Grant Gang Adventures: Blythe Juliette {1 Year Old}

I find this post surprisingly difficult to write....

It has been one year since Blythe Juliette blazed her way into our lives and caused the hearts of our entire family to expand 10 fold! Our lives are richer because of her, Happy First Birthday to the bright light of this family, Blythe Juliette Grant.

Weight and Height: We find out officially next week, but for now shes around 25+ lb
Clothes: 18-24 mo/2t depending on brand and type of clothes
Diaper: 4, but she needs five....I am putting it off as long as I can.
Feet: Do not care until she walks :)
Teeth: Four, but there are several popping thru.
Breastfeeding: I am proud, and shocked, we made it to a year! She is trying to wean herself because she loves her almond milk in a cup. The only reason we are hanging on is...well....me. I do not even love nursing, but to think this is the end for good is hard for me. It is not a feeling of relief at all.
Food: I can tell she is developing some preferences, but she still eats great. Oatmeal is not her favorite along with any other concentrated fruit. She loves almost any veggie I can give her but clearly likes some more than others.
Talking: I do not think she will be as chatty as Addison and Caleb, but she is still learning new words well...dada, mama, piper, cracker, bub (as in caleb-bub), paci, please, dog, baby.
Signing: I LOVE SIGN LANGUAGE; she learns and uses new signs everyday! Eat, water, milk, please, help, thank you, banana, more, all done, dog, bath, play, various body parts.
Independent playtime: Overall, she does fantastic with play pen time for up to 20-30 minutes daily or 15 minutes twice a day. I started working on blanket time, but decided I would wait until she walked like I did with Addison and Caleb. I started daily blanket time around 14-15 months with them and they both caught on and followed the boundary quickly. I totally believe in boundary training....it is an essential transferable skill!
Major motor: She crawls fasts and has just recently started to cruise. I think she will be walking by the end of May, which is EARLY to me---the other two did not walk until 15 months! My kids are usually a little behind the curve in this area.
Fine motor: Good pincer abilities, tries to stack objects, turns pages in books easily, can manipulate velcro and clips.
Separation anxiety: Despite having regular date nights with our baby sitter and co-op moms and church, she still struggles. When Addison is around, she is much more comfortable.
Words to describe her: Independent, opinionated, fairly serious, curious, active, sweet, daddy's girl, NOT snugly AT ALL, content
Loves......her daddy, her snuggle blanket, Caleb, Addison, eating, self feeding, exploring, looking at books, climbing, people watching, singing, copying
Does not love.....applesauce, pineapple, cuddling when it is time to sleep, nursing, waiting for food, getting ready for sleep, diaper changes, oatmeal

Looking back on the last year.......I have enjoyed her first year so much more than the first two children; I can see the forest, not just the trees this time. We also proactively prevented the PPD this time, that was HUGE. I truly relished so many moments and milestones this go round; I knew from AJ and CA that it would fly by in a blink. However, those two LONG months without the leader in this family, Matthew, were some of my darkest moments. I am not proud of how I handled it, but it made me realize a few things 1) I am so thankful we have a godly leader in our house who provides, loves, leads and cares for this family, 2) I am thankful our family has a father/leader in it 3) children are far more impacted by the absence of a father (who is just unavailable vs passed away) than I ever thought possible 4) children are emotionally resilient 5) my mother is a saint (I already knew this but it was made even clearer) 6) I cannot do it all and must ask for help 7) my husband is absolutely the most amazing human being I have ever met in my entire life. If I remove those two months from the last 12, this past year with Blythe in our family has been so rich, full and blessed and as close to picturesque as possible.

To my joyful survivor:

As silly as this sounds, each time I think of you I feel as though I could explode because of how fiercely I love you. This family is smitten with your big green eyes filled with wonderment, your contagious squnichy nose smile, your laughter which you carefully select to use, the constant curiosity and your angelic voice. My heart is so full when I see you look at your brother and sister with admiring eyes. Blythe, you are so blessed to have a brother and sister who love everything about you and love you more than anything. And your Daddy.....there is not a better one around. Truly.

I thank the Lord for you everyday. I claim the scripture hanging on the wall in your room...

Numbers 6:24-26“The Lord bless you and keep you;The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’

I am honored to mother you. You will always be so special to this family; God was so gracious to daddy, Addison, Caleb and me when he let us be your family. There are still many days I wonder what it would have been like to have you and your twin Olive here. Sometimes when you are nursing and I day dream I can almost see our other crib in that room. In that same moment, I squeeze you extra tight knowing that while we lost one, we were give you and you baby...you are wonderful. I cannot wait to watch you grow and watch you become the person God called you to be. I crazy, fiercely, big, squishy love you my "Blythe-y". Always. Always.