Clover Leafy Turned One

 Babies first birthdays are always bitter-sweet.  Almost immediately after the birthday you start to notice the change in their features, the more toddler-like qualities developing.  We'll only have one more first birthday, so I felt more ambivalent than usual about the event.  However, Clover was so excited and so happy and so funny that I couldn't help but laugh and giggle and clap along with everyone else. 

 Clover got a fish for her birthday.  She likes it because it is soft. 

 So many helpers.

 She loved her cake.  I wish I'd just said to heck with tradition and put more candles on her cake because she went nuts when Eli blew out his candles the week before.  She still loved her candle, but one compared to eight isn't the same.

 She was so excited!  It was so adorable!

Of course we made her a clover cake.  What other choice was there, really?  It was well-received.

Clover is darling and perfect and squishy and we all adore her.  She laughs all the time, claps her hands, sticks everything in her mouth, and pulls off her socks the instant I get them on her little pudgy feet.  She's into everything and likes to crawl to where I'm sitting and lay on my foot, like a puppy wanting a belly rub.  She's super ticklish, which is fun.  She babbles and talks more than I can remember my other children doing (though that might be due to faulty memory).  She's constantly telling us all sorts of things that we can't understand, but we enjoy the conversation anyway.  She has so many funny expressions and it is impossible not to dote on her completely.  We love her so much!