Yesterday, Zara turned one. I seriously cannot believe how quickly this year has flown by and how wonderfully she has grown through all of the changes in her world. When she was a newborn and we were spending her first weeks packing and moving across country I kept telling her, “this is not what life is like, baby.” And yet it seems like it is what her life is like. I feel a little guilty for having so much disarray at moments when I wanted to just focus on her, but she has sailed through it all as happy as a clam. Zara is most definitely our beach baby, with the happiest, most jovial little personality.
She loves her big sister and wants to do everything Nora does right along with her, which is probably why she took her first steps just before solstice and within a matter of days has completely abandoned crawling as a mode of transportation. All Zara wants to do is be one of the big girls and go, go go…which was why it made perfect sense to take her one year pictures in our laundry hamper where she was forced to stay still for more than 30 seconds.
At one, Zara is walking and nearly running everywhere. She climbs stairs, step stools, and and anything that will take her up higher and higher until she gets stuck and calls for help because she doesn’t yet know how to climb down. She says “uh-oh,” “(all) done,” “dog,” “down,” and “dada” (all the important D words…) and she signs “milk,” “more,” “eat,” and “diaper.” She is a great eater and doesn’t seem to have Nora’s aversion to cow milk although she definitely does not share her sister’s love of kale. She is still a dedicated nurser although with her love of food and independent personality we may be lucky to make it to two. She has 8 teeth, four top and four bottom. Some days, Zara only takes one nap but generally she still takes two, and she is still able to nap anywhere in her carseat, something I am quite thankful for. At night she wakes up to nurse between one and three times, starting the night in her crib then coming to sleep with us once I have gone to bed. Zara is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen, and is very quick to laugh — baby giggles have become quite common in our house. She has recently started trying to dress herself (by wearing any random piece of clothing as a hat or a scarf) and we all find it incredibly hilarious and endearing. She likes to help me load the dishwasher and thinks it is amusing to sneak into the bathroom and flush the toilets.
Zara, you are such a wonderful little person and I feel so lucky to be your mama. I can’t wait to watch you grow over the next weeks, months, and years.