I assured you this was coming. It doesn't matter that she is almost a fourteen month old, right???Kate has been one since Nov. 15th and we couldn't be enjoying it more!! She is a blast.
If you make it all the way through our letters, there is a walk through Memory Lane at the end.
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Dear Kate,
One year old- congratulations. You have grown so much in twelve months; it's hard to think that you were that little tiny (relatively speaking) baby.
You couldn't do anything, but slowly things began to change. You started to hold your head up, hold your own bottle, roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, run, bounce, high five, babble, and talk. And
now you are more of a toddler than a baby.
I love to watch you rough house with the big kids, or jump on mommy, or run down the hall eluding us as you grab something you shouldn’t have.
Gone are the days when we would put you to sleep in the swing, shush you to sleep, or wait expecting you to crawl at any moment.
You’ve changed us too. We learned how boring our lives were before you. How mundane our trips were. Or how empty our schedule must have been.
How nervous and unready we felt before you came. But now you are here and our lives are crammed with love. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I am fascinated, entertained, overjoyed, and amazed by you and your exploration of the world...
...your tiny features, big girl mentality, and mimicry of everything.
We are now a family because of you. Mark and Jen have become The Roskowske Family.
Our lives are fuller, our love is deeper, our joy is more radiant. You are a blessing.
Here’s to you. Here’s to your first year.
Love Always,
Daddy
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Dear Kate,
You’re ONE!! Daddy and I can hardly believe how fast the year has flown by. You have grown from this little blob that cried all the time to this funny, vibrant, energy filled toddler. You are the light of our lives, truly. We don’t know what we would do without you. When things get tough, we always know that we have our Kate, and that makes everything seem better.
I can remember bringing you home from the hospital and the joy that we felt. For the first few hours, at least. Then, you started to cry and you didn’t stop until mid-January. Seriously, it’s true. For awhile there, Daddy and I wondered why in the world we decided to have a baby. It’s not that you weren’t adorable and cuddly, and, yes, you had your sweet baby moments, but OH, the crying!! Still, we hung on and knew that soon, it would all be over.
What emerged months later was a WAY more relaxed environment around here. A huge sigh of relief!!! We actually enjoyed you, and had so much fun playing with you. Your smile melted our hearts (still does) and with each new milestone, our hearts swelled with pride. Still do. You were our joy, we were a family, and it felt just right.
Over the course of this year, we have watched you grow and change so much. I remember laying you on your little play mat just waiting for you to swat at the little objects hanging down. We’d see you lift your hand and get so excited, “She’s reaching for it!” Normally, it was just those awkward baby movements that all you babies (oh, I forgot, you’re not a baby anymore. You’re a toddler.) do where your arms and legs seem to move involuntary. But then, one day, sure enough, you reached for something and we were so proud. It’s funny to think that not too long ago I was waiting for you to swat at something hanging inches from your face, and now I am trying to teach you how to NOT throw important things in the trash can! What a difference a year makes, huh?
You have learned so much in this past year. We watched you learn to roll over, lift your head, sit supported, then sit on your own. We’ve watched you learn to crawl, scoot, dance, clap, play Pat-a-Cake, sing, say Mama, Dada, Babababa, OOOH, and UH, and our favorite, we’ve watched you learn to walk. We’ve enjoyed Baby Einstein and Saturday morning cartoons in bed with you. We’ve watched you try new foods, seen you play in the snow, in the pool, and in the leaves.
Right now, you love to walk backwards. You’re kinda crazy like that. You love all things with buttons to push. Remotes, t.v.s, your play keys, electronics, your play kitchen, or phones. We go to Uncle Scott’s house every other Monday. Maddie has a Barbie house in her playroom and there is a button to press at the bottom that makes a song come on. We hadn’t been there for a few weeks, but you remembered exactly where that button was. The minute you got back to that playroom, you went right for that button. Sometimes, we are amazed by how smart you are.
You also LOVE the tub!! We have stopped using your little inflatable duck tub inside the big tub, so you are on cloud nine. You have the whole tub to yourself. You are free to move. One night last week, you laid down on your belly in the tub, and kept dipping your face down to drink the water. But mostly, you just like to throw things in and out of the tub. It’s a game I never should’ve started (our bathroom floor is soaked when you are done), but it sure is cute to see the excitement on your face. And, that‘s worth the cleanup later. You also love to shake your naked booty in the bathtub. I think you know how much it makes us laugh, so you stand up, hang on the side, and go to town shakin’ it. We caught this on video… priceless!!
Speaking of shakin’ your booty… you are a dancin’ fool! You rock, bounce, clap, and shake to all kinds of music. You love anything that makes music. You love when we sing to you. You are fascinated by Daddy’s guitar. You smile from ear to ear when he plays and sings for you.
You are full of energy!! You run from one side of the house to the other, normally destroying something in your path. You get into all of my jewelry. You have your own drawer at the bottom of my jewelry box just for you. You rip up toilet paper and Kleenex. You shake your head no when you don’t want to do something. You stand on the laptop. You climb into the dishwasher and refrigerator.
You pull out all of the paper plates from the pantry. You chew on shoes. You like to put my underwear on your head (why my underwear, I have no idea!). You throw tantrums- you throw yourself down, cry, hit, pinch. It’s ugly, but we know it is a phase. Probably a LONG phase, but a phase at that.
You keep us on our toes, to say the least. Honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We know it’s just part of having a one year old. The thought of not having you in our lives is unthinkable. You just fit perfectly.
This year has been filled with new experiences for all of us. We love doing things as a family of three. You make everything more fun. I cannot even TELL you the times Daddy and I have said that to each other. Thank you for adding more love, joy, intensity, and excitement to our lives.
I thought I would dread the day you turned one. It felt like just yesterday that we were driving home from the hospital realizing just how much our lives were about to change. As much as I begged time to slow down, November 15th came. And, it felt right.
I love the fact that you are one (and you look so cute when you hold up your one finger when asked how old you are). I love who you are right now. Feisty, loving, a full on Daddy’s girl, funny, and full of life. We couldn’t ask for more.
I love you, baby girl.
Love,
Mama
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A Year of Pictures
One day old
One month old
Two months old
Three months old
Four months old
Five months old
Six months old
Seven months old
Eight months old
Nine months old... one of my all-time favorite pictures
Ten months old
Eleven months old
Princess Kate on the morning of her first birthday
