countdown to one year…

July 26, 2013 · Filed under Uncategorized

cedar is 11 months old. we will be celebrating one year since her birth on august 14th. this has been the longest year ever. and the shortest. time has flown by and stood still all at once. days spent in the nicu that felt like forever. moments watching our beautiful little sapling learn something new. *blink* then she’s on to something else. time is strange, always has been. no matter the joy or the drama, time goes. it passes us by. eventually we look back and see all that has happened. the months that felt never ending now a distant memory.

i envy the way cedar is in the moment. she doesn’t think ahead like i do – i’m already anticipating the loss of my baby’s childhood. i fast forward to high school graduation and feel anxious – heck – i fast forward to no longer feeding her a bottle and changing her diaper and i miss her already.

we spent 4 months in the hospital. in some ways we got the most bang for our buck because of it. it feels strange to say so, but really – it was such a gift having to be so very present each and every moment we were there with her. it was minute by minute watching her body learn to be outside the womb. learn to breathe. learn to eat. learn to grow. the nicu put us in some sort of void where we had no other choice but to be there. really BE there. our time with cedar has been more memorable because of it. had we taken a full term baby home i can imagine milestones would just be milestones…instead to us, they are miracles. each and every new thing cedar does feels like such an accomplishment. this first year of her life has been so full, so rich, so full of gratitude because of all the scary moments. i am thankful. so thankful this baby found us. and so happy she is thriving!

it is amazing how many milestones a baby can hit in just one month. in july: cedar is now super solid at sitting up on her own. she is also a rolling machine! she is moving front to back and back to front and now prefers being on her belly most often. we are probably only a couple weeks out from needing to do some serious baby proofing of our house. cedar is now able to lift her belly off the ground and propel herself forward with her arms and legs. as soon as she can figure out how to coordinate keeping her head up and stomach off the ground at the same time, we are going to have a crawler!!! cedar is starting to be pretty consistent at waving hello – she is also close to mastering the high-five. cedar still doesn’t seem to have much (if any) separation anxiety like most babies at her gestational age…however, she has recently begun lowering her head and tucking it into my chest when even grandma (who she sees often) first approaches. this shy expression quickly passes and she busts out her huge grin. it is so fun watching her develop in this way. lastly, cedar’s vocabulary is expanding (if you can call it that) – lots of sounds, blowing air through her lips (she is going to be a fantastic trumpet player!) and she is able to repeat some words like mama, baba, etc.  here are a handful of photos from this past month…

reading quimby a story.

playing dress up at a friend’s house.

enjoying her first spears of asparagus.

cedar’s first super moon.

outgrowing her carhartt overalls.

family photo.

playing some tunes.

first trucker hat.

enjoying a late night fire on her first mama camping trip.

first hammock.

first mustache.

first sister sing along in a tent.

she really does love her uncles.

first corn.

first funnel.

11 months and growing…