First, some feels: A year ago, despite everything we were told, Cody and I could not have possibly imagined how this time would pass so quickly or how amazing it would be to meet our baby and watch her grow, learn, and become all the things she’s becoming. Bowie astounds us daily with her ambition, perseverance, resilience, humor, and sweetness. We truly feel like the luckiest parents. Recently an article came out regarding some German researchers’ findings that happiness plummets in early parenthood… For us, perhaps our backs hurt in a way that assures us we’re growing older, but aside from that, I don’t know if Cody or I have ever been happier. We couldn’t be more grateful that the universe entrusted us with such a bright and beautiful tiny human to burst our hearts open and fill them with so much good stuff. Thanks for being our baby, Bowie!

Now for your regularly scheduled updates:

• Bowie closes out her first year with a fast-growing vocabulary that has officially outpaced our attempts with signing. She’s added “more,” “done,” “shoe,” “hat,” “baby,” and perhaps most importantly, “cookie,” to her arsenal. She understands a lot more than she can speak, and it’s so cool to hear her experiment and work on shaping her sounds so that we can understand her.
• This month on one of our low tide walks, Bowie wanted out of the sling and onto the sand. We happily obliged, and watching her boldly flail across the beach and into the tiny waves with a fist full of seaweed and a mouth full of laughter was pretty magical. Ever since, I’ve kept a tide prediction calendar open on my phone and a bottle of baby powder in the car for what’s become her favorite activity for getting wiggles out. (Sidenote: How badly do I wish I knew the baby powder trick when I was a kid?!)
• Some of Bowie’s other favorite things to do lately: pulling records off of the shelf, snuggling (her parents, her dog brothers, her stuffed animals, her books, sometimes even the floor), pretending to talk on the phone, climbing onto the couch, and going on “pony rides” (we bounce her on our back while humming the theme from Bonanza)
• Her favorite foods right now seem to be broccoli, mozzarella cheese, pasta, graham crackers, and a fairly constant rotation of fruits. However, as I’ve recently become somewhat obsessed with French macarons, she’s also been pretty psyched to try a bite of a new flavor every time we stop by the bakery.

Thanks for following Bowie’s first year with us. It’s been my favorite time so far. (And sorry for the smaller gallery this month… We’ve been having some technical difficulties, and if I can figure out where the rest of our pictures are, I’ll add them here. Has anyone else had and resolved photo issues with the latest Apple update? Your advice is welcome!)