Annikah is officially one today (at 5:15 pm). As we were getting ready for the day this morning Jason asked me if I remember what we were doing last year at that exact time, of course I do- I seem to recall being so exhausted and contractions with no end in sight. Lucky for me it was all worth it.
Yeah for her and yeah for us- what a year!
We thought we would post a few of Anni’s favorite things at 1:

*her push toy– she can know loop the entire condo without help (except for the occasional stuck wheel and then she signs “help” (or screams depending on her patience level) and we come to her rescue and she is quickly off again)
*being outside & strolling in the neighborhood
*waving and flirting with strangers (her adorable antics have even gotten us free donuts and free fruit at Trader Joe’s)
*running each morning with Mama (although Anni definitely has the better gig of sitting in her lil’ chariot (26.2 or bust!))
*goldfish crackers, avocado, and 100 calorie pack toucan cookies from Trader Joe’s
*snuggling with Mama & Papa
*kissing toys, people, animals you name it!
*swimming and going to the beach (eating sand and fearlessly going into the water are highlights)
*pointing at the L train EVERY TIME it rolls by
*dogs (when we are out she always wants to pet them and evens loves the slobbery kisses) and our cat Bonita
*music & dancing- whether it is her nursery rhymes or baby praise music or even Hip Hop blaring from a passing car the girl cannot help but shake what her mama gave her! (she actually has pretty good rhythm too!)
*reading books with Papa & going to the library with Mama (the security guard there always smiles and talks to her)
*making messes and creating chaos (although it seems I spend most of my days picking up & cleaning up it usually looks like a tornado has ripped through our place)

Those are a few on Anni’s favorite things at 1. Today there was a fabulous moment actually caught on tape (the best part of the video is my ridiculous freaking out in the background) but it is pretty awesome that I happened to catch this and it happens to be on her birthday!!

http://i204.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid204.photobucket.com/albums/bb212/roxanne_engstrom/b-daywalking002-1.flv

  1. Anonymous says:

    happy birthday miss annikah! that video was so great – how neat to catch that moment on tape! we love you guys and pray that you are blessed with a second beautiful year!

  2. Anonymous says:

    YAAAAY Anni! That is awesome that you caught that on video. I remember freaking out when we caught Joel’s first crawl on video, lol. She will progress FAST now, I bet. She’ll be walking all over your place in about a week.

  3. Anonymous says:

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIKAH!!!!!Roxanne- you are an amazing Mama, and the many, many accomplishments of your little Monkey speaks volumes to the time and care you give to her every single day. It is just wonderful to catch such a momentous thing on video! Thanks for sharing it with all of us šŸ™‚

  4. Anonymous says:

    such a big girl! I thought she would walk befor Joshua and she did. We need to hang out again soon so she can teach Joshua to be fearless!

  5. Anonymous says:

    i am such a dork. I got all teary when I saw her take her first steps and heard your excitement. What am I going to do when it’s my own!?