One year old!

Our little Rosalyn is a one year old! This year has gone by fast when I look back on it, but slow day to day. :) I took pictures of her every month, and put them together as a collage for her birthday.  It is fun to see how much she has changed in one year. What a miracle. 

Ever since Rosalyn was born, it's been sort of similar to having twins since both girls were still so dependent on me. I had to organize some of their similar items that they use. I've always had pink stuff for Brielle, and purple stuff for Rosalyn.  It has made it easy to identify this year. I'm lucky I got a picture of her holding the purple balloon! :) 

I wanted to take a picture of her with her newborn photo. I think it is fun to see how she's changed! 

Birthday breakfast...

You gotta wear your birthday crown in your birthday suit!

We took it easy and enjoyed the birthday girl on her special day. 

I got a mini photo shoot out of her while Brielle was down for a nap.  I wanted a picture of her outside our condo for us to remember. 

I would put her by the door and then run really fast, grab the camera and shoot away.  She's getting really fast at walking and I barely made a shot before I'd have to do it all over again! I got a workout! But I love these pictures of her. 

My family drove up from Olympia and we had a birthday dinner together at our place.  We enjoyed mac n cheese...perfect for a one year old and all the rest of us! :) 

After dinner, we watched a movie Jeff put together.  I had taken a short video after each time I took her monthly picture.  Jeff put all the videos together into one movie, and it was AWESOME to watch! I loved seeing how she changed each month.  This is going to be a treasure, I wish I would have thought of it for Brielle! See, the second child doesn't always get less pictures taken! :) 

Rosalyn enjoyed watching herself:

I requested Claire to make a cake for us. She's just so good at it! I told her I wanted a rose theme, and she created this masterpiece! See, and it's even purple! 

Rosalyn dove right in with both hands.  She ate it with passion and made a mess. 

Next to her, Brielle was dainty.  She used a fork and hardly needed a wipe at the end. So funny how different they are! Even as a one year old, Brielle ate her cake cleanly. 

A little decor...

Brielle was happy to help Rosalyn open her presents. 

We gave her a little pot that has plastic food that fits in the cover. Grandma gave her socks with rubber soles. 

I also made her a little play makeup kit since she's always with me when I get ready in the mornings. Both girls love it! Brielle went right to work pretending to put makeup on everyone in the room. 

Here's the birthday crowd in our crowded space! 

We then went on an adventure.  We took the bus into Seattle to go to a toy store!

It was rainy that night, but we stayed as dry as possible.
Waiting at the bus stop:

Riding on the bus:

Playing at Top Ten Toys! 

Rosalyn especially loved the glow in the dark section:

We bought the girls an umbrella for the rainy season coming up.  We haven't gotten much use out of it yet.  But that doesn't stop Brielle from wanting to carry it all over! 

And then it was time to go home.  We had a fun birthday with our birthday girl! 

 

And now, some things I want to remember about Rosalyn at this age...


Rosalyn Kathryn Tolsma
1 year old
Weight: 20 pounds
Height: 29 inches

• We call her "Roz" or "Rozzy" most often.  I'm going to see if I can get "Rosie" started. We call her "Smiley" and "Smiles" also because she is always smiling!!
• She is walking all over and fast! She picked it up and wants to walk everywhere now.  She just walks all over our condo and paces wherever she goes. 
• She loves to put things in and take things out of containers. She loves to make messes wherever she goes! 
• She wants to play with whatever Brielle is playing with.  This is fine 90% of the time...Brielle is really patient with her. The other 10%, I have to redirect her to something else. 
• She is quick to smile at anyone.  But she seems to get nervous around men wearing baseball hats? 
• She is a great eater.  She eats most everything I give her.  She especially loves blueberries. And graham crackers. 
• She has been a great sleeper most of her life. She would wake up randomly whenever she reached a new developmental milestone (rolling, crawling, walking) and then got back on track after a few weeks. She still takes 2 naps - morning and late afternoon. 
• She is always happy in her car seat. I don't have any issues once she's in. 
• She babbles a lot and sounds just like Brielle.  I sometimes can't distinguish who is talking! Rosalyn likes to repeat the sounds I make, and lately has been saying "ba ba ba" all the time.  She makes me sing "ba-ba-barbra-anne" all the time. :) 
• She likes books and music, but not as passionately as Brielle does. 
• She has 8 teeth. 
• She sleeps in a mini pack n play in our guest bathroom.  It won't fit unless the door is open, so Jeff and I have to be very quiet at night when she's gone to bed. She has a sound machine to keep the outside noises quiet. In the day time, I move her pack n play into our bedroom.  I know she's awake when I hear her babbling.  No monitors needed in our small place! We haven't moved the girls into the same room yet since their sleep patterns are still so different. 
• She loves to climb and seems to have a little dare-devil streak in her. Jeff and I have caught her several times trying to walk or dive down the little slide we have! She's already figured out how to go down stairs. 
• She was born with brown hair, but it has lightened to the same shade as Brielle's.  Her hair is now blonde - that looks strawberry blonde in the sunlight sometimes. 
• She loves to clap her hands and wave "hi" and "bye." She will do these on command, or when I sing certain songs she likes. 
• She really likes shoes...eating them, playing with them, trying to put them on her feet. 
• She still growls like an animal all the time. It's hilarious and weird and we love her for it.
• She loves to get rubbed on the back of her ears, head and back.  Another way in which she reminds me of a puppy.  
• She loves Brielle's little chair we gave her, and always sits in it.  She will walk around and then go back and sit in the chair...and repeat over and over again. 
• She has a special fascination with electrical outlets...and even though they are child-proofed, she pulls the covers off and trys to plug and unplug things in the outlet. It freaks me out.
•  
• Her form of affection is what I call "head-buts"...she will dive head first into my lap and give me a head-but with wet kisses. 

We love our dear, sweet Rosalyn! She is such a special little girl!