Kiley's First Birthday

Our little girl is one year old!

It's hard to believe that an entire year has passed since we first heard her sweet little cries and felt the desperate grip of her tiny little fingers. I held her on my chest and she calmed immediately as we stared into each other's eyes and tears of joy streamed quietly down my face. 

The past year has seen many more tears for both of us, but our family has also grown exponentially with love since Kiley joined it a year ago.

Happy First Birthday, Kiley Patricia!

We threw her (and ourselves) a little party to celebrate with family and some of our closest friends.

Big Brother Ryder was super excited to help Kiley celebrate her birthday. All week long he helped me pull together craft projects, shop for food, and decorate the house for his favorite little sis.

We were very much looking forward to a traditional first birthday Cake Smash. Unfortunately, Kiley wasn't particularly thrilled by the situation (although the balloons were a hit).

Happy birthday, dear Kiley, happy birthday to you!

With a little coaxing from Daddy and Ryder, we were finally able to convince her to try some cake.

Kiley also received mountains of wonderful, generous gifts!

She was thrilled with the colorful wrapping paper just as much as with the presents.

Due in large part to my Maternity Mommy Group, Kiley actually has a decent group of friends who are around her own age. It was difficult to get them all organized into a photo together, but we tried!

Having kids is an adventure that you should never embark upon alone. 

Besides having an extremely supportive and understanding spouse, I highly recommend surrounding yourself with good friends who are also in the same stage of life. We've been extremely fortunate in this regard, and I really don't know how we would have gotten through this past year without the support of our many friends.

And of course we have been entirely spoiled by our family members, who are in love with our kids and are always more than willing to lend an ear, or a helping hand. They are basically the reason our marriage is still standing after the last crazy, sleep-deprived 365 days.

Nana with her fourth of five grandchildren!

Kiley's Uncle AJ, Aunt Morgan, and Cousin Kinley. The girls are only six months apart, and I hope destined to be the best of friends.

Patty and Grandpa Russ, who is especially thrilled by having another Alway girl around.

It was so fun to spend the day doting on our little princess.

It's hard to explain how I feel about my second child turning one. She's still and will always be my baby, but she's also turning into a big girl before our eyes.

The party was a huge success, filled with grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends. Sweet Kiley is definitely very loved. 

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has been a part of our lives this past year — we couldn't have done it without you!

Dear Kiley... Twelve Months

Dear Kiley, 

The days are long, but the years are short my sweet girl.

It seems like just yesterday that I stared in wonder at you for the very first time. Now here we are, celebrating your first birthday.

I still stare in wonder at you every single day. The past year has been an incredible adventure, and now that you're in our lives I can hardly imagine our family before you were a part of it.

We started out the month (and the new year) with a ski trip to White Pass. You were quite the little trooper, letting us bundle you up like a pink marshmallow and carry you around the slopes. You just nestled in and enjoyed the ride, often snoozing away...

You seemed to enjoy the snowshoe hike around a frozen lake, and were very well-behaved.

Even when you were awake, the cold didn't seem to bother you at all.

We attended a couple different birthday parties this month, including one for your Baby BFF, Jane, who is just 10 days older than you.

You sure do like party balloons!

 For your first birthday party, we had a super fun celebration at home with family and some of our closest friends.

You weren't quite sure what to think about your birthday cake... 

Our friend group has really changed a lot over the years, and these days we are overwhelmed by babies! 

We attempted to get a photo of you on your birthday with all of your little friends... it was only moderately successful.

Although you were feeling a little under the weather, you were still excited to check out some of your birthday gifts. 

As you will learn soon enough, winters in the Pacific Northwest tend to be cold, dark, gray and wet. This one has been no different, which means we've spent a lot of time recently holed up in the house. But even though we've been stuck indoors, it's been fun to watch you grow and discover the world around you. 

We had fun playing dress up while getting you ready for our ski trip.

You are quite the little monkey! 

You love climbing up onto things and are pulling up onto everything.

You still like sitting in boxes and baskets. 

And you love sitting in your big brother Ryder's special chair. 

For whatever reason, you are absolutely obsessed with the dishwasher. Whenever you hear or see it open, you make a beeline for the kitchen and climb right in.

You can climb all the way to the top of the stairs!

If we forget to close the gate, it's not long before we find that you've quickly crawled partway up on your own. And when we close the gate, it makes you absolutely furious! 

You've also begun throwing "fits" when you don't get what you want by dropping your head to the floor in dramatic rage.

You love following your big brother around everywhere, and always want to be right in the middle of whatever's happening.

The Bounce, Ride and Stride elephant that Ryder got for his first Christmas has become one of your very favorite toys. 

You can climb on all by yourself, and Ryder likes give you rides all around downstairs. 

We continue to love to make fun of your crazy, fuzzy, goofy hair. 

Just like me, you absolutely LOVE macaroni and cheese.

You're getting better and better at feeding yourself finger foods.

Every once in a while, the sun comes out. When it does, we quickly bundle you up and go outside, which you love.

This month you went on the swings for the first time, and you were over the moon with joy! I'll never forget your sweet squeals of delight. 

You love bath time, and putting you in the tub with your brother is always a nice distraction from your typical bedtime fussiness.

We always try to read to you before bed each night. 

You're finally starting to sleep better, my sweet angel. 

You go to bed anywhere between seven and eight o'clock each night following a bath, book, and a bottle. I rock you to sleep in your room, and then transfer you into your crib, where you sleep through the night for about 11 hours, occasionally waking up once in the wee hours for another bottle. 

I love our nighttime cuddles.

Your physical developments are progressing so rapidly I can hardly keep up. 

At your one year checkup you weighed 20 pounds, 10 ounces (63rd percentile) and you were 28.74" tall (31st percentile). Your head size remains in the 95th percentile, probably because you're so smart. You can stand briefly on your own, and will walk short distances while holding someones hands for support. You high-five, clap, and wave to say bye bye. You love throwing and kicking balls.

We ran out of breast milk the week before your birthday, and you had no problems with the transition to whole cow's milk. Surprisingly you're not very interested in your pacifier anymore, so that won't be a difficult habit to break.

You have five teeth — two on the bottom and three on the top. We're still waiting for one of the middle top teeth to come in, and in the meantime you look a little bit like a baby hillbilly.

We received your American passport this month, so now you can officially travel outside the United States. Your daddy is a dual British and American citizen, so we're also working on getting you and Ryder your British citizenship. It's been a long process, but hopefully when it's all said and done the two of you will be dual citizens as well. We're hoping to plan a trip to England sometime soon so that you can meet all of your British relatives across the pond.

I can't believe that you are one year old. 

Being a mommy to you and your brother is the most incredible thing I have ever done. It has changed and challenged me in ways that I never thought possible, but each new challenge is worth every amazing award. 

I can't wait to see what adventures the years ahead hold for us.



No one else will ever know the strength of my love for you, my darling. After all, you know what my heart sounds like from the inside.

For a fun comparison, click here to read about Ryder's Twelfth Month.