"Gums of Steel" turns 1!!

Our little Aurora turned 1 today! I can't believe the time has flown by so fast!!

What she looks like: Aurora is a sweet, petite little thing (just like Riana was at this age.) She weighs about 18 3/4 pounds, so unforunately we won't be able to turn her carseat around just yet. She has really light blue eyes, like her Mommy. (In fact, most people tell me that she looks the most like me out of all of my kids. I take that as a huge compliment, since I think she is pretty cute! But then again, so are all her sisters too! Maybe I am just biased.) We still haven't decided whether she is going to be a redhead or blonde. We call her hair "strawberry blonde"-- looking more blonde inside the house and more strawberry outside in the sun.

What she eats: Aurora is still breastfeeding like a crazy girl! But I am happy to report that she is finally eating a ton of other foods. She mostly likes to eat what we are eating, which is difficult with NO TEETH STILL!!! So I just mash it up as best as I can and she smashs it with her gums the rest of the way-- a talent she has grown quite good at! I am amazed to say that she is even eating some of the baby foods that I still have kicking around since she didn't eat them before. She has also mastered a sippy cup and even uses a fork and spoon quite well (usually with her left hand-- yup, we think she is going to be a lefty like her Daddy.) One more talent she has in this area is taking medicine. She sips it right out and swallows it-- no problem!! I am so impressed with it!! (She did take acid-reflux medicine, which tastes pretty nasty, for the first 6 months or so, of her life, so she has a lot of practice.)

What she says: Aurora loves to talk! She babbles all day long. It is very cute. But the words we recognize so far are: "Mama," "Dada," "Boom, boom, boom," "No!" complete with a swinging arm, "tank cum" for thank you, "dawdaw" for dog, and "Mmmm" when she eats something she likes. She doesn't always say these but has quite a few times.

Her favorite toys: The buttons on the remote control, the buttons on the phone, the buttons on Mommy's IPOD, and baby dolls-- she loves to snuggle with them or just hold them and pat their backs. So sweet!

What she has been doing: She loves to smile and we love her many smiles! The girls especially love her "scrunchy nose smile." Another thing she does is that she refuses to crawl, instead she scoots on her bum (which is probably a lot better for her acid reflux because she is upright.) Anyway, our friend's daughter Hailey said, "Look Mommy! She walks with her bum!" It was so funny!! She also walks along furniture, or with help, and has even started standing alone for about 10-20 seconds. More things she does, she waves hello and bye-bye and she loves to clap. Whenever anyone claps, even on T.V., she claps too. Oh and she LOVES to dance! Also, Aurora loves her tongue and has since birth. She loves to stick it out and she loves to grab it with her finger and thumb. Another silly thing about Aurora is that she hates blankets! When we stick a blanket over her legs in her carseat, she kicks and kicks until it is off. When she is in bed with us, she pulls her legs out and puts them on top (even if it is freezing!) If she can't get the blankets off, she whines or cries! One more sweet thing she does, is that when I pick her up from her crib she hugs me for like 20-30 seconds. It is so sweet. Oh, and she gives kisses too sometimes when we ask for them.

One thing is for sure, we all love our little "Rori-pants" and can not imagine life without her sweet personality! Happy Birthday Princess Aurora!!! :)