The Schmooze.

Alright. Here it comes.

Our sweet little babe turned the big O-N-E last Saturday.

She gave me a couple weeks to get used to the idea...at 11 1/2 months, she decided that she wanted to walk.
So she did.
And she decided that she wanted to start jabbering at full-speed, too.
So all-of-the-sudden, within a week, I had a little someone toddling around on two chubby feet, chatting the day away in baby-speak.

It was SO cute.

But it freaked a mama riiiight out. Where the heck did my BABY go??? I had someone who looked a lot more like a toddler on my hands. The cutest toddler I've ever seen, but that comes with the territory.

So now she's one. And she just keeps getting cuter. Well, to her parents, at least :)
...which is good, because she sure keeps getting more mischievous, too...

At one year old, Renae has discovered colouring. She loves it. Aaand loves to eat crayons. She still loves looking at books herself, and being read to. She's discovering toys...and her favourite of the moment is a toy phone that we got her for her B-day...to save strangers from weird calls on the house phone...and to save her daddy's cell phone from being eaten yet again. Her first official word was Da-da, like in an I-understand-what-it-means-and-how-to-use-it kind of way...understanding which she confidently displayed just in time for Father's Day. Best present, ever. And she's started showing a special fondness for her teddy bear. She likes to take him out of the crib with her after a nap and tote him around for a few minutes post-snooze. She's got six teeth, a sweet tooth, and hair long enough for curly little piggy tails.

She got DQ ice cream cake for her birthday. We gave her a spoon because it was cold, and because she likes to "use" it...but fingers still work way better....especially when it comes to getting the really good stuff in her belly as fast as possible.

Happy Birthday, Renae Deanne. We love you like crrrazy.