Freya, please, please sleep

You aren't sleeping well at night at all this week.  You aren't a great sleeper, anyway, but this week has been awful.  You are cutting your molars, so I don't know if that is the problem, or if it is something else, but you were up last night between midnight and 3am.  Sometimes you cried, sometimes you acted like you were trying to go back to sleep, sometimes you were up out of the bed and walking around.  I am tired - really tired.  It is hard when you don't sleep well for nights on end, because I am not as sympathetic on the third night as I was on the first and second.  I hope you sleep well tonight.

Your first birthday

Today is your first birthday.  I am so happy you are in our lives!  I would like to tell you that you are the best thing that has ever happened to your Papa and me.  Today, I donated $10/month to a charity that helps educate girls in Afghanistan.  We will donate money on all your birthdays to causes that impact girls in a positive way.  Here is the link to the woman's organization we donated to this year:  www.raziasrayofhope.com. 

Here are some things you like right now:  Miffy, the Dutch version of Hello Kitty, that your papa brought back from his trip for you.  You like all your "friends", and you have a lot of them - raccoon, bunny, cat (second Sol), bear, lamb, monkey, and Annie.  You also like mandarin oranges, saffron rice and pasta.  You are crazy about eating those things.  You also like your school, Lexington Kids, and the teachers there.  You love, love, love books.  Your favorites are the kinds that have little flaps that you can pull up to show something that's hinding beneath.  You also like sensory details in books.  You love dogs, and you want to pet them every time one walks by, when we are on walks, and you love Solomon Kitten.  You love chasing him around the house.  You just want to pet him, but you don't know how to pet as gently as you should, and Sol often runs away from you.  You like taking a bath, and you try to eat the bubbles.  You want to stand in the tub, though, and I don't allow it, and you sometimes cry.

You started walking just a few days before you turned 10 months old.  You aren't saying a lot of words yet, but you know a lot of words, because you understand what we tell you.  You sleep in our bed with us, and it is getting cramped in that bed!  You like to lay sideways in the bed, and that doesn't make a lot of space for Papa and me.  I think you are headstrong, and you may be stubborn, like me.  I hope what we have been doing so far is good for you.  We love you a lot, and we try to make sure you are happy.

Here's how we're celebrating tonight:  We'll go to one of you favorite restaurants, Pad Thai, and you'll eat some of my pad thai and maybe some of Papa's curry.  How do I know Papa will have curry?  He always has curry at Thai restaurants, and who can blame him?  Curry is good!  Your aunt, Mary, will come with us to celebrate.  Afterwards, we will go to WA Frost, and maybe Andrew will sing to you.  He is an opera singer, and he happens to also be a server at Frost.  We will have dessert there, and I hope you will have a good time.  We will have a big family party for you later.

Happy Birthday, baby girl!