A few days ago, Harper turned 1. We survived the first year! And that is something. 

Here she was as a teeny newborn. 

And here she is now.

It’s incredible how someone could change so much so quickly. Here she is, month-by-month.

In honor of her birthday I thought I would give you 12 things about Harper at 12 months:

1. She loves yogurt.

This girl cannot get enough yogurt. She can eat more at one sitting than I can! In fact, she eats way more than you would ever think such a tiny person could eat. But that’s because she’s going at full speed all day. 

2. Her hair finally lays flat.

Harper has had some epic hair fluff throughout her life. We always said she took after her dad that way, he of the spiky hair. But now it’s finally long enough and heavy enough to lay (mostly) flat. The only exception — post-nap hair.

3. She can walk. She just won’t.

Evidence here.

She cruises around all day. Either that or her funky crab crawl with one leg out. But I still have to convince her to walk by herself. As with so many things, you can’t make Harper do something if she doesn’t want to.

4. She’s a strawberry blond. For now. 

She’s gone from brown hair to red hair to blond with a reddish tint. I can’t imagine it will stay that way forever, but it seems to be sticking around for now.

5. She gives great hugs.

One of the many reasons I like this age is the hugs. She cuddles and gives you a full-on squeeze now. It’s so sweet. I might be in the minority but I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for the newborn days. This age is a blast in comparison.

6. She’s starting to form her own language.

I think she’s on the cusp of syllables turning into words. She repeats things rather than saying them totally randomly. I think mama, dada, and dog are in there somewhere. You know, the important stuff.

7. She pretty much always has a cold.

This picture really sums up what our January was like. First she had a stomach virus (and her first real throw up, ugh), then a cold, then another cold. Mike and I got them too, so we’ve been a bunch of phlegm wads all month. I didn’t realize there were so many things kids could get sick from, but I’m learning fast! Thank goodness for boogie wipes. 

8. She’s nothing like me.

I joke, but she really is so much like Mike. Both in appearance and in personality. She looks a lot like he did in baby pictures with the blond hair. And especially the way she scrunches up her nose when she laughs. She’s mischievous and expressive and social. But there is one thing we all have in common — we want things done our way!

9. The dishwasher might be her favorite toy.

I don’t know what it is about the dishwasher, but she could stand there for hours. We are going to have to start eating with only spoons so she doesn’t poke herself. 

10. She still loves to be outside.

Fresh air goes a long way with this kid. Now that we’re all well we need to plan some more adventures.

11. She is a little too fearless sometimes.

Harper got her first fat lip this month when she tripped and fell while cruising around. I’m sure it was more traumatic for us. Her mouth was bleeding and I couldn’t tell what from. Turns out it was just a cut lip. But ooh, it makes you scared for the future!

12. She’s going through rapid-fire development.

It’s amazing to watch the wheels turning as she figures things out. You can’t trick her anymore. If she wants to go somewhere or play with something, she points or shakes her head no.

It has to be incredibly frustrating to want to do so many things and not be able to communicate those desires. So I’m sure that’s the origin of a lot of her crankiness.

She cracks us up with her dancing and her peek-a-boo games and her fascination with small dogs. (Her favorite is Mike’s office dog, Juan Carlos.) She’s big on handing you things, but not necessarily giving them to you. 

We had this birthday picnic planned at a park in Berkeley, but of course the long-awaited deluge of rain happened last week. We moved the party indoors and it ended up being really fun.

Happy birthday to my baby girl!