Dear Brooke Allen: ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are now ONE YEAR OLD.

I can't believe it.

I didn't get a picture of you with a birthday sign last night because you were too busy playing and I was too busy birthday crafting. So maybe tonight we'll get one! We've already had your official first birthday portraits made, so I'm not really worried about it.

In your twelfth month...

You took a bubble bath for the first time...

and then proceeded to eat the bubbles. You only tasted them three times before you decided not to do that anymore.

We had your first birthday portraits made!

You were so adorable, even though you wanted nothing to do with the cupcake smash. You raked your fingers through the frosting, then looked at your hands like, "Now what?" You tasted it after about five minutes of playing with it, and then didn't try it anymore.

I have no hope for a cake smash at your birthday party this weekend.

More crawling practice. You still don't care. You'll get up on all fours and rock, and then scoot backwards. Going forward just really isn't an option.

I got the flu, so I spent about a week with you at home. We shared a pot (I separated out your portion before I ate mine) of Italian wedding soup...which you LOVED. Especially the meatballs.

I was so glad that neither you nor Your Daddy got the flu that I had. I was miserable. Luckily, Your Dollie took you for one evening so I could rest while Your Daddy was at work.

We went to Dothan for the weekend to take care of some important business. You played with Your GiGi a lot.

You also have a new trick. You love DaDa. You talk about him all the time. Even when I ask, "Can you say MaMa?" You say, "DaDa!"

Then, I got us all packed up for your first trip to Washington DC to see your Uncle Wes and Aunt Dervon!

Your first flight was great. You did really well. No problems with ears.

We brought plenty of toys to keep you occupied, but you especially loved looking at the clouds with GiGi.

We were there for a party in honor of Uncle Wes and Aunt Dervon's wedding last year. They didn't have a big wedding, just a Justice of the Peace ceremony, so they've been having parties throughout the year to celebrate. We threw them one in Dothan in the fall, and this was their party for all of Dervon's family and their DC friends to join us!

On Saturday, we went to the Jefferson Memorial, which we had never been to!

It was quite chilly, so you had to have a new hat.

You love playing with Uncle Wes. You think he is funny!

Then, we went back to the hotel to rest before dinner, but you wanted no part in napping.

That night for dinner, Dervon's brother held a private party for all the guests at the Wok and Roll, a sushi/karaoke place in Chinatown!

You LOVE karaoke. This is you and Dervon's niece, Ayla, dancing to the music.

On Sunday morning, we took a brunch cruise on the Odyssey, which sails down the Potomac River.

We had such a good time with Dervon's family. They were so gracious, and a lot like our family, just all speaking Chinese!

You sacked out on the cruise from all the fun.

After brunch, we all went next door to Cantina Marina, where Uncle Wes is a manager.

After another afternoon of no naps, Your GiGi and I decided we wanted to get out of the hotel and go get something yummy to eat, so we went back to Chinatown to one of our favorite restaurants, Matchbox.

You had cheese pizza and thought it was awesome.

And of course we had to stop for cupcakes.

On Monday, we had lunch with Uncle Wes, Aunt Dervon, and Dervon's mother and brother's family. We ate at one of Uncle Wes' favorite restaurants, Zatinya, which is a Greek tapas restaurant.

You really enjoyed the roasted cauliflower, hummus, and cucumber salad.

Then we had to head back.

The flight home was not as good because you were sooooo tired. We had a slight delay because of weather, and we were already on the plane, so Your GiGi and I had to be creative in the ways we entertained you...and ourselves...

But we made it!

And a special shout out to one of your "Aunties" at Mom's school - Shaney. She has been so gracious in handing down a lot of baby items from her daughter, Kennedy. We would not have survived this trip without the Ergo that she gave us! THANK YOU, AUNTIE SHANEY!

And now here we are, the day after your first birthday. Two days before your first birthday party. We are so looking forward to your "sweet" birthday party! I have been making lots of preparations and Your GiGi is coming back tomorrow night to help with the final stuff before Saturday morning!