12 Months Old!

EMBER RENEE EVANS was born exactly 1 year ago at 7:42 am weighing 6 lbs 8 oz and 19 inches long. One year later she is a walking, smiling, noise making, ball of personality that weighs 16 lbs 5 oz and is 26.75 inches long! Oh what a FUN year it has been! Here is Ember's last monthly update and her last monthly balloon pictures :( Just another sign that my sweet baby girl is growing up! This is what she has been up to in the last month of her 1st year of life:

We started the month off right by going to Mexico for another week long vacation! Ember fell in love with books on this trip and it has continued ever since. She did a lot better about not eating the sand so much  - probably because she was focusing all her effort into trying to get walking down. She got up to 8 steps in a row in Mexico on the beach! Maci played with Ember for the first time by running in circles around her in the sand every time Ember made a move toward her. They were both loving it until Maci bumped into Ember and made her cry. Once we got back home from Mexico, Ember went into her room and started hugging all her toys (stuffed animals, books, rattles). It was pretty much the cutest thing we had ever seen! She missed her toys while she was gone. Two days after Mexico, Grandma and Grandpa Flin came for a visit and they got to see Ember get walking down officially. She got over 20 steps in a row their first night here and has gotten better and better every day since. Ember has also learned how to climb on things... things that aren't too tall that is. She can climb on top of boxes, onto the step stool, and on suitcases. Ember got to try many new foods this month. Some of them are cantaloupe and watermelon, spaghetti squash, eggs, and ham. She is getting so good at eating finger foods by herself that we rarely feed her pureed foods anymore. Ember learned how to sign "eat" too so she is able to let us know when she is ready to eat her meal. But usually we have to stop her in the middle of playing and have her eat because she would rather play play play! A big thing for Ember (and mommy) this month was Ember's 1st Birthday Party! It had a Little Pumpkin theme and it was held in the BBQ patio area at our condo complex. The weather was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Ember had fun eating her first cake, playing with the leaves and straw on the ground, and opening presents. Her family and friends that were able to make it had fun eating a variety of pumpkin and fall treats, watching Ember play in her first cake, and simply celebrating Ember's 1st year of life. Ember got to have another cake on her actual birthday and LOVED that one even more. She got dressed up as a cute little fairy and went trick or treating for the first time at her Mima's work (College America). This year has been full of so many changes for Ember and us. We are truly convinced that "children are a blessing from the Lord" and we cannot stop thanking God for the real blessing and gift He gave us in Ember Renee one year ago!