Happy Birthday to Phoebe today!  Unfortunately for her, this year of blogging has mostly been a failure.  I'm not really hanging my head due to great record keeping via other media (photos, photobooks, school books, printed Facebook quotes, baby books, baby calendar), except for missing a birthday post about Calvin on his birthday.  I'll just have to do his pretty soon here as some testament to everything wonderful about Calvin this year--it just won't happen within six months following his birthday.   I did notice that I have April photos already uploaded and ready to blog, so only five months between then and now, and voila, I'm caught up.  We'll see...

Here is Phoebe this month (September):
 

Just a shock of that original dark hair that persists on the top of her head.  I'm getting better with barrettes and ponytails, and I'm sure things will be a bit easier when her hair is all one length.

What an adventure it has been having a daughter.  I was looking at her newborn pictures today, thinking about how she was like a present to us in those early days, complete with a bow on top.  What a sweet bundle!  Now, she is still a gift, just bursting with joy, smiles, and a bold sense of humor for someone so small.

I'm sure most of Phoebe's unique characteristics have everything to do with her being Phoebe, rather than being attributed to her gender alone.  She sounds like a girl.  I've been accustomed to talking to little boy babies and having them yell and chuckle in response, and her small, high squeals and coos are much different.  Her animal noises even sound girly.  This is not to say that she isn't loud.  She is certainly more vocal than the boys about letting us know what she wants.  I have read that girls are more sensitive to when they don't have your full attention, and this is true of Phoebe.  She gazes and babbles until she gets a response, whereas her brothers would chatter at us, and then go about their business happy just to have shared.  She reminds me of Calvin in how she engages with others.  This is not to say Isaac doesn't do his fair share of charming with his eyes and hugs, but Phoebe and Calvin seem to throw their whole being and vocabulary into it.

Phoebe is not a snuggler yet.  She will cling to me when she is tired, sick, scared, or shy around someone new.  Otherwise, she is always wiggling and darting away to the next adventure.  She still will not let me rock her before putting her in bed, instead pushing me away and fussing with frustration until she is on her back with her beloved silky blanket in her mouth.  She is warming up to listening to books on my lap.  She loves books.  Right now, she likes ones with animal noises and animal textures.  Sometimes, she'll try to repeat the animal name or noise.  She whispers them most of the time, but she can say a few of them ("duck", "quack", "cat", "horse", etc.).

Phoebe has been walking for a little over a month.  She putters around the house, stopping for her favorite activities.  Most of them involve opening drawers, cabinets, or tissue/wipes containers left within her reach by mistake.  She feeds her dollies with plastic bottles, clucking her tongue as a sippy noise.  She plays in her Fisher Price house, pressing buttons and opening the door.  She finds small objects to drop down the stairs.  She unstacks the wipe refills on the changing table shelf, heading to her dresser to clean out a drawer next.  If she spies anyone relaxing on the floor, she loves to jump on them, laughing.

Phoebe loves MultiGrain Cheerios.  She is a very happy snacker (just like her brothers).  She likes all kinds of food.

I like shopping with Phoebe at this age.  She waves at people and enjoys her stroller and cart rides in general.  Phoebe is an escape artist in both strollers and shopping carts.  I can't get her to stay sitting; it's very alarming.  Her favorite shopping cart position is squatting, turned completely around in her seatbelt, and standing up every chance she gets.  She is so strong.

I like to kiss her apple-cheeks.  She gives me lots of smiles, and is very excited when Daddy comes home every day, too.  She is a grandma's girl for both grandmas and will fuss for them as soon as she sees them.

So, that's Phoebe at one!  We are very blessed to have her and love her more every day.