Happy 1st Birthday, Copper Jo!

For a whole month I get to refer to my daughter in terms of a year instead of months. For a whole month she will be "One." Not 12 months. One Year Old. It feels a bit surreal having a one year old. How so much can change in just a year's time. The fascinating thing about this is that I will feel this way every year from now on. I will be amazed when she turns two, in awe of what she has all accomplished when she turns 3, and this is how it will be every year. I won't view the passage of time through my own birthday's but rather through Copper's. At One Year Old Copper is practicing standing on her own, can control her sitting from a standing position, she uses sign language to tell me when she wants "more", she pulls herself up on any and everything, she looks at dogs and ducks and makes sounds that sound like "dog" and "duck", she blows kisses and waves goodbye, she is not stingy when it comes to hugs, she likes to give kisses (big wet ones, often open mouth), she has two teeth, she likes to pet Melvin and Flea, she holds on to me tight when she doesn't want to go somewhere, she makes lots of sounds when she's "reading" books, she sort of knows how to use a fork and spoon, she loves cheese, and yogurt, she makes the weirdest faces, she makes me so happy that I don't miss the life that I had before she became a part of it. Every year we will wish her a Happy Birthday, make a big deal out of her special day, and buy her gifts. Every year I will reflect on all of her accomplishments and every year I will be reminded that on her birthday I was given the best gift I could ever imagine.