Naia Bean turns 1

It's more true than we ever believed possible: everyone told us that the time would fly by, and it does. It feels like we've only blinked a few times since our baby girl was born, not like the year that has passed.

Naia and I spent her birthday together. Since Daddy had to work, we met up with him for a picnic lunch...

...though Naia was more interested in exploring the campus lawn than eating lunch on the picnic blanket!

Naia has had a diet nearly 100% free of sugar since she was born, but we decided that for a treat we'd give her some birthday cake (we had some practice pieces put aside from her "real" birthday cake for her party). However, she was more interested in her apple...

...until we added blueberries!

Later that day Naia met up with her friend Jack at the playground (you may remember a similar photo from when Naia and Jack were about 8 months old). They have been buddies since they were born :).

It isn't hard to believe she is 1 when I see her walking around, drinking from her water bottle, and looking every little bit the toddler.

The day may have seemed like any other to Naia (other than having her first taste of cake!), but to me it was such a major milestone. We marvel every day at how much she knows and how much she can do, and we find it hard to believe she is only 1. We have to remind ourselves just how little she still is. Among the gazillion things that she does every day, she can:

• Say Mama and Dada and banana (the "ba" is mostly optional).
• Meow like a cat.
• Open little cardboard boxes.
• Use sign language to say "milk" and "finished" (and occasionally "food" and "sleep").
• Feed herself with a spoon (and most of the food even gets to her mouth!).
• Throw a ball (like a girl still, but we're working on that).
• Pour cups of tea with her play tea set.
• High five, wave, give nose kisses, and give sloppy real kisses.
• Understand much of what we say. If we suggest she take a magnet from the fridge and stick it on the dishwasher, she can do it. If we ask her to find "Bob" (her round rubber duck), she heads to the bathroom and pulls him out of her pile of bath toys.

The best part of all, though, is how much she loves to laugh, and tease, and play. Who knew that a 1 year old could do so much? And be so much fun? So it was a quiet day, but a big one too.

The party

Well, if her actual birthday was quiet, her party day was anything but! Naia may have known something was up because earlier we had spent most of an afternoon trying to get an invitation-worthy photo (harder than it might sound, but we got there in the end!).

Neither of us anticipated just how many people would actually come. All up about 60 people joined us at our local beach park to help Naia celebrate. The day was a stunner, but the best part was feeling all the love for our baby girl. Although we are sad to be so far away from our families, we are blessed to be surrounded by so much warmth and friendship.

Naia had an absolute blast. And this time there was no hesitation when it came to tasting her dolphin cake :).

 

 

Thank you to everyone for all of the warm wishes, beautiful cards, and generous presents. Naia is surrounded by happy reminders of her special day.

A wander in the park

Naia took her first step at the end of November. On Boxing Day she took two steps. By the end of December she was up to three or four. She took her time with the walking thing! (I suppose when you are a crawling speed demon, there isn't much incentive.) Well, the last couple of weeks she has finally found her feet, if you will. We took her to Long Bay park for fish and chips tonight and she loved having a wander around!

Some notes:
1. It was super windy...she gives a little shriek because the wind almost knocks her over, which is very funny of course :).
2. That is a little pottle of blueberries in her hand. Her current food obsession.
3. Her bottom looks extra cushy because she is wearing one of her padded cloth nappies (diapers). These are great protection for hard landings!
4. Towards the end of the video you can see a picnic party off to the right. That was where she started, and she is probably 60% of her way back. She walked a long way!
5. I stopped the camera too soon...right after she sat down she gave herself some applause for her effort.
6. Sorry about the quality of the video...it's from my phone.

Hugs to you all! We have a rather important occasion coming up this week. Will post photos shortly thereafter.

Summer and Naia's first Christmas

December was amazing. Naia had heaps of fun. She celebrated her first Christmas, she played, giggled, and splashed, and she had both mummy and daddy at home for two weeks all to herself. Here's a month (-ish) in photos.

The bliss that is swings and bubbles at the same time...

Splashing and swimming in the ocean with daddy. So warm!

Helping with the chores...

Paddle pool fun...

On the move with a new trolley...

Cutie pie in the bath...

Sheer delight after a strawberry slaughter...

Big girl now, brushing her own teeth...

First "fluffy" (steamed milk froth dusted with chocolate powder)...

At swimming lessons with daddy...

And doing what she does best...splashing!

Opening her first Christmas card...

Christmas morning. Santa came, and yes, those are (nearly) all for Naia!

Opening her very own homemade stocking in her Christmas tutu...

Summer barbecue together (with extra peas on my plate as Naia is guaranteed to want more)...

 

Out for a hike in her new backpack carrier...

 

Love those eyes. 

 

Riding on her new (to her) trike. There isn't much "baby" left!

She's all about cuddles these days...

And, last but not least, she likes to ham it up for the camera :).

November fun

The highlight so far is standing. I mean real standing! Look at me Mummy...no hands!! (Lol, or at least, hands reserved only for holding my phone, not holding on!)

We've had plenty of other fun too. Swimming is always a favourite.

So is reading with Daddy.

And eating. Naia lets us know how much she loves her food quite vocally. A typical meal can take 45 minutes and she mmmmm's her way through each one!

We've also had fun at the park...look how far she's happy to roam from our lunch spot now! Sticks, dirt, leaves...it's all fascinating. So much for our baby girl who couldn't bear to touch grass just a couple of months ago.

It's all about go go go...

Since we've been home, Naia has been on the go. A lot! 

She's now tackled and mastered stair climbing (it took her about five minutes to get up this flight of stairs the first time--now she does it in under a minute!).

She's also figured out how to get to standing (now she seems to spend more time on her feet than her knees!).

All this standing means she also likes to stand in her cot (rather than sleep, ahem), so it was time to lower the cot mattress. Here she is helping Daddy...

Naia is eating loads just to keep up with all the extra energy she is burning (yes, she ate all of that!)...

She's an adventurous eater. Here she is fueling up on a kiwifruit and spinach smoothie while visiting with Jean...

Nothing is off limits now it seems...even the dishwasher is fascinating.

She's getting super speedy at crawling.

And when something (or someone) gets in the way, you just go over them (oops, sorry Ben!).

Such a pro at this standing business...

It's not all about indoor play. We've had loads of fun at the park too...

 

Hanging out with her buddy Jack in their matching overalls :) 

And last weekend we spent a fun day at the zoo. Here we are posing in front of the lions instead of having a morning nap (though eating her hat is more interesting apparently).

Hanging in the sunshine with Daddy...

And with Mummy and friends (Sarah & Ben and Julia & Jack)...

Check out the monkeys!

Naia's growing up so fast...she's big enough for rides on Daddy's shoulders now.

Something else big happened this month--Mummy went back to work! Naia has been spending three days a week with a nanny, Renee. The first couple of weeks were a tough adjustment, but she's having loads of fun now. Here she is giving Renee a cuddle...

And grinning as Renee pushes her on her swing...

Judging by what we've seen in the last few days, Naia has some new tricks up her sleeve. Watch this space!