Let's start with 11 months. Not too much happened. I was busy party planning and Char was growing. We headed to the beach in St. Augustine for the weekend with my mom and we had a lot of fun. It was nice to have a little girl time. Char and I also went to a couple of football practices to visit Daddy. Char loves getting out there are playing with the footballs and seeing Scotty after practice. It's a nice time for both of them. Char's Granddaddy loves to see her out there as well. He will come over and talk with her and give her rides on his golf cart. It's a fun! We also visited the zoo with some friends with one of our play groups. Charlotte loves the fish the most. : )
So 12 months. Yep. 12 months. 1 year. Unbelievable. It seriously feels like yesterday that I had a newborn. No sleep and a non-mobile baby seem like a distant memory but they also seem so new. I have actually dealt with the big birthday better than I thought I would. I think all the planning kind of masked the emotions.
We had a wonderful party! We were able to have the party in one of the large rooms in the stadium. It was so nice to have all that room for everyone to be able to play. We had a ball pit for the little babies and some other activities for the older kids. Charlotte did pretty well. Especially since she didn't have a nap. She had a little melt down before cake. She did not like her birthday hat at all, but after she tasted the cake she was happier. She received so many wonder gifts and it was nice to see many of our friends and family. It reminded me a lot of a wedding though in the sense that you plan and plan and the whole thing is over in no time. But I think that everyone had a good time. I know that I did, but I have to say - I'm relieved it is over : )
On Char's actual birthday, Scotty and I had a cupcake with her in her room for breakfast while she opened a few presents. Then Char and I went to Stroller Strides and celebrated and then to My Gym to play with more friends. We later had Family Dinner with the Coaches' families and celebrated again. Overall I think that Charlotte had an amazing first birthday. Not that she will remember it but I hope the pictures and videos will do it justice.
Scotty and I both wrote Charlotte a letter for her birthday. I can't speak for Scotty, but I know that I was extremely emotional as I wrote the letter. That has been the most emotional time for me through the birthday process. I cried my eyes out writing to my daughter about her first year of life and just how much she means to me - as well as I could explain it in words. That's really hard to do, if you didn't know. I went back and forth about whether or not to share the letter on here and I decided that I would. Even though it is a private and emotional letter, I want Charlotte to know how much I love her and that I am so proud of her that I wanted to share it with our friends and family. So here it is:
September 3,
2014
My sweet Charlotte Mae,
You are one year old today!Never has the saying "time flies when
you are having fun" been more true!You are such an incredible blessing to me and have taught me so many
things in the last 12 months - well actually since you were in my belly!
In the time that I have known you, you have taught
me:
1)What
worrying really is.I worried about you
as soon as I found out that I had a baby in my belly!When I saw that pink line I started to worry
about keeping you safe.Then when your
Daddy and I saw that little speck on the screen at the Dr.'s office I started
to worry even more!My eyes welled up
with tears of joy and happiness to see your teeny, tiny little heart beating
and I wanted to make sure that I did all that I could to keep you happy,
healthy, and safe.I hope that I was a
comfy place for you to grow : )I later
realized that my "worry" is actually caring.You taught me how to care.I care about you so very much.I care about you when you are sleeping, when
you are eating, when you bump your head, and in everything else you do.When you think that no one else cares, know
that your Mama does : )
2)You
taught me how to laugh.I mean really
laugh.When I was pregnant I would have
these crazy laughing fits!The silliest
little thing would make me laugh so hard that I couldn't breathe.Your Dad actually caught a few of these on
video.Both he and I were so happy that
I was a laugher instead of a crier like many pregnant women are known for.One of our friends told your Dad and I that
since I laughed like that and had those fits that we would have a happy baby
and man, he was right!So many people
throughout this year have commented on how happy you are!I love to see your sweet smile and hear you
laugh!You make some of the silliest
faces and noises and we have been lucky enough to catch some of those on
video.You have such an amazing
personality, even at a young age!You
are charming, sweet, funny, and oh so adorable!Your PawPaw always says that we can't take
you anywhere because people always stop us wanting to talk to you and see
you.They say you are the prettiest baby
they have ever seen and you give them that 100 watt smile!I am so very proud and lucky to have you as
my own!
3)You
taught me how to appreciate the little things.I never knew that I could get so excited about things like you eating
cereal for the first time, the first time you held a toy, 5 hours of straight
sleep!, the first time you clapped, and signed "more", holding your
bottle for the first time, and so many other things!Things like that would make me so happy that
I would have tears in my eyes!You make
me so very proud and one of the most rewarding things about being your mom is
seeing you learn new things.There is
nothing like it.Now you are learning to
walk, you know the color blue, you can drink from a straw, and are learning new
words.I am so very blessed that I have
had the opportunity to stay home with you and see you learn - it is one of the
most rewarding things I have ever experienced.
4)You
taught me how to love.Don't get me
wrong, I love your Dad, but not in the way that I love you.He would agree with me and say that we didn't
know what love is until we had you.I
love every single thing about you and I loved it from the moment that I found
out you were growing in my belly.
I loved every single
hiccup, sharp jab, foot in my rib cage, kick, and wiggle.One of the best sounds that I have ever heard
was the sound of your heartbeat for the first time.I felt an unconditional love from that moment
on.When you arrived in the world there
was no flaw about you.You were and
still are perfect to me.Your sweet
little hands and feet, the birthmark on your belly, your sweet little hair, and
all your little teeth are nothing less than wonderful.I watch you every day and love you a little
more.Some of the absolute best moments
I have had have been rocking you to sleep in the middle night.Squeezing you tight while you snuggle down on
my chest is an indescribable feeling.When you look to me for reassurance in new situations and when you call
out "Mama" it makes me feel so special.I cherished every single moment because I
knew they would be gone before I knew it.I hope that when you are a mommy that you remember to take in every
single moment like that - believe me the first year goes by before you know it
and you can't get those moments back.I
can't imagine my life without you and I am so proud to be Charlotte Mae's
mom!
I prayed every single
night for a happy, healthy baby and I was blessed with just that.I continue to pray for your health and
happiness each night and I pray to be able to give you all you want and
more.You are the light of my life and
an absolute blessing from God.
"Mothers hold
their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." -
Unknown.
I hope to hold your
heart forever, and know that you will always hold mine.
Happy First Birthday my
sweet girl!
Love always,
Mama
So there's that. Hope it's meaningful to her one day. Anywho - Charlotte is starting to stand alone longer, has taken about 5 steps, she wipes her own mouth, she is giving hugs!, wearing actual hair clips, and playing peekaboo. She will show you her tongue if you ask and lay her head down on you and say "Awwww." She's the best.
We are now in the process of getting rid of the paci - easier on her than me. I need to just gather them up and have Scotty hide them. She only has them in her bed, but we need to get rid of them now before it gets harder. We also are in the weaning process.
We made it a full year with no formula! Woo! Not that there is anything wrong with formula feeding - I just set a goal and I reached that goal so that's the cause for celebration in that scenario. And how do I get repaid for all that hard work you ask - Char refuses cow milk! I have tried many different things to help her adjust and its just not happening right now. We are down to one nursing session a day and the rest of the day she usually will drink water. I make her milk cup available but its just not her favorite. We will keep working at it.
The weaning process has been a lot harder on me than I expected. Around 9 months I was so ready to be done but now that the time is here I am sad. It's really odd though because I will go hours without nursing and it doesn't bother me but when I think about nursing Char for the last time I get really sad! I am not sure what is so sad about it though. Maybe that I don't have a "baby" anymore, that I won't be a nursing mom anymore, the pride I felt when I pumped 10 ounces in a sitting, or the thought that I may not nurse another baby and this is my last time having that closeness (which I hope is not true, but I'm not in charge of that kind of thing, I'm not sure what is in HIS plan for us). I have cried myself to sleep about it twice. Ugh. Its postpartum hormones all over again! Well I am going on a baby free trip soon and that will be the end. Emotional preparation has begun. I will say that the freedom of only nursing once a day is amazing. I never expected that to feel so good.
In other news, Charlotte made her television debut in "The Believer." It is a documentary that Kenny Chesney produced on Coach Spurrier. It is a really amazing story. Y'all should try and catch it on the SEC ESPN channel. I think it has run on ESPNU as well. That Char Baby gets some pretty good camera time. Scotty does as well. I, on the other hand, avoided the camera as much as I could. I passed the baby off and headed the other direction. It was awesome to be a part of such a cool project though. Made me proud to be in the Spurrier bunch. So here ya go - pictures, pictures, and more pictures. And videos. 1 year old. Where does the time go?
11 Months!
I mean, is that face freaking cute or what?!
Char's BFF
Kisses for Hen
Twinsies
Zoo Trip
Carousel! She hated it.
Has to have to blue one of everything!
Stroller Strides
Practice with Daddy
She covered herself up like this
Me and Kenny at the premier of "The Believer"
Snoozing on the floor in Granddaddy's office during a game
Having a snack with PawPaw
Spaghetti!
Birthday Invite
The Birthday Girl!
This is so funny! Char and her friend, Clark
Playing with her birthday "toys"
Cupcakes for breakfast when it is your birthday!
This is blurry but still cute
12 Freaking Months Old.
Holding up her 1 candle!
After Daddy told her not to bite it.
And again. Ha!
Cupcakes to share with friends at Stroller Strides
My Gym on Char's Birthday
Char in her birthday hat at Family Dinner
Standing!
Char in her backpack from her Aunt Amy
How I found Sophie one day. Looks like she was DOA. Ha!
Nothing better than giving a kiss to that sweet face
Mama and Charlie Mae
Peek a boo!
Ball pit at her party
Blurry also, but this picture makes me feel like a Mama : )
There's a smile!
Happy Birthday Charlotte!
Char in her new car!
Char and her PawPaw
and Mimi
Party Pictures!
Char checking out her new toys
She makes the craziest faces
Char and her great-grandmother
The older kids had playdoh, coloring, and checkers to play with while the little ones played in the ball pit.
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