We can't believe it's already been a year since our bright, gentle, twinkle-y baby Aspen was born. That time FLEW by. And today was no exception.
At one year old, Aspen CAN walk by herself, but vehemently chooses not to. We don't mind, we all like carrying her! And she is a proficient crawler.
She has four and a half teeth, two on top, two on the bottom, and a third on the bottom that's starting to poke through. She has several signs, including "Baby," "Dog," "Cat," "Bear," "Horse," "Fish," "Hat," "Shoes," "Water," "Aspen," "Grandpa," "Grandmom," "Nana," "More," "All done," and "Again" (but we aren't sure if she knows it actually means "again" or just "slide" because that's the only time she asks for something again, if she's playing on the slide on Sabine's bed.) She even occasionally strings signs together, especially if someone is wearing a hat. (So she'll sign "Aspen" and "hat" when she sees the picture of herself in a Santa hat on our mantle.)
Aspen still takes two naps a day, but they are getting pushed out, so she may be transitioning to one nap sometime soon. Right now her first nap is around 10:00 AM, and the second one is as late as 4:00 or 5:00 PM, depending on how long her morning nap is.
Aspen likes to eat meat and carbs, mostly. She's still a huge fan of spanikopita (mama's girl!) and she likes shrimp and bites from daddy's apple. She and Sabine also both love to eat pancakes for breakfast. Daddy has started adding some cinnamon and vanilla to the regular recipe, and boy, that has gone over well!
Aspen still has a gentle soul, she loves to cuddle anyone and anything. Sister is at the top of the cuddle list, but give her a soft animal or doll, and she'll snuggle it until she's lying down, too.
She's even been known to snuggle pictures, pens, or pebbles. (Her stuffed goat is still the favorite, and goes to bed with her for every sleep.) She also loves going outside, we all like the fresh air, but Aspen's first inclination is to sit and start eating whatever she can find between the cracks in the sidewalk, so mommy is a bit of a party pooper and doesn't let her sit outside nearly as much as she'd like.
Aspen loves pictures, she loves to point out people she knows, as well as hats. One of her birthday presents this year is a set of laminated pictures of people in her family so that she can handle them all she wants. (It's frustrating that we don't let her play with the framed pictures around our house very often.)
Overall, Aspen is a sweet, happy kid. She still does Stink Face on command, take things in and out of boxes and containers, point out things in her world, and likes pretty much anything big sister likes. Fortunately, she has a very patient, accommodating big sister. (Within reason.) The girls have always gotten along but now Sabine sometimes integrates Aspen into her imaginative play, and Aspen adores being included. Just as quickly, Aspen has developed a very distinct "STOP IT!" squeal that we can recognize from across the house, and Sabine gets annoyed as her toys get more and more manhandled. Siblings can be tricky, but fortunately these two seem to be handling things pretty well so far.
We feel very lucky to have such a close, happy family. We love you both to the moon and back. Or, as Sabine says, infinity.
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