Birthday Girl, Belated

I know that Phoebe was officially one over a week ago, but I felt like I couldn't do a proper birthday post without the ubiquitous cake pictures. So I waited until Phoebe's birthday party, which was this past Saturday. I am still in a state of disbelief about her big girl age. Really. It's hard to believe how much she's changed in just one year! But the truth is, she gets to be even more fun every single day.

We had her one year checkup (and lots of shots) last week, so here are the "medical stats":
Phoebe is 28.5 inches tall - she's grown almost ten full inches since birth! - which is the 25th percentile. (We knew she'd end up small like her parents!) She also weighs a whopping 18 pounds, 1 ounce. It really does seem like a lot, since she has tripled her birth weight. However, she's only in the seventh percentile for weight! She's such a peanut. Fortunately, the doctors are not concerned -- she's growing, she's happy, she's healthy. I do promise we feed her! And honestly, the pictures below are proof!

Here are some of the pictures of "the cake" experience...

Hmm... what is that? I think I want that!

First big bite

Signing "more", with a mouth full of the good stuff

We were so fortunate to have all of Phoebe's grandparents and uncles at her birthday party... she loved being the center of attention, and was such a ham. What a great delight she is!

Some of the fun things Phoebe has been doing recently:

• Switching completely over to "big girl" milk (whole milk). We PRAISE THE LORD that we are no longer having to spend ridiculous amounts of money on formula! (At least for another six months!)
• Eating lots of big girl food... her favorites right now include pizza (surprise), grilled cheese, all kinds of fruits and veggies, pasta with tomato sauce, and pretty much anything else mommy tries to give her. She's still not a huge meat fan and did not appreciate our giving her tuna, but she'll eat a Chick-fil-A nugget, if it's offered. :)
• Pretending to be a puppy in Jake's room
• Reading more - she's always loved to play with books, but now she'll actually sit and let Mommy or Daddy read to her. She especially loves to help turn the pages. Her favorites are books with pictures of real babies (she loves books by Tom Arma, I'd highly recommend them), texture books, and Brown Bear.
• She loves nature, and being outside... she especially loves watching the birds outside our kitchen window. She loves to turn and look when I say, "Look! Birds!" They're usually eating when she is eating, which she thinks is extra fun.
• Standing on her own for long periods of time, and half-heartedly attempting to walk... she's so much happier crawling fast, though!
• Phoebe also loves to put things on her head... headbands, bunny ears, whatever. She takes them off promptly, but she gets all kinds of delighted when something goes on her head.
• Plays peek-a-boo with us, and LOVES to hide behind Lambie when we're in the car. She thinks she's hilarious, and we agree!

The list could get pretty extensive, but those are some highlights... I've promised myself that I'm going to not sit like a lump for this entire week, so I'm going to sign off and wash some dishes. It's hard to believe how much she's changed in a year, though! I'll close with our first, at-home, family picture!