Happy 1st Birthday to our baby Ila Jo

 (I'm trying to figure out the new picture uploader on blogger)

It's so hard to believe a year came and went as fast as it did.  Ila continues to grow.  She hadn't started walking by her birthday.  That came a couple of weeks later.  She started walking and was off.  There was no learning period for her.  She took some steps then it seemed like she was running. We all love her and she is so vital to who our family is. She still doesn't say mama, but says dada all the time.  She says "hello" (cutest thing ever) but it's more like, "eh-O" and puts her hand up to her ear.  She gets really excited and grunts a lot when she wants something.  She loves our dog, says "dah," when Quin is around. She still doesn't laugh much, but it hasn't changed that when she does laugh it is for Colby, Eva, or Lilia. They seem to have the magic touch. She has figured out drinking out of a sippy cup, so hopefully before too long we'll say bye-bye to the bottle.
After Christmas, sometime...I can't remember exactly when, we took away the binkie because Lilia was still stealing it.  It seemed the only solution to the problem.  But after a couple of semi-difficult nights she was totally fine.  I'm convinced it's the easiest way to get rid of it.  It was an adjustment for me not to be able to give her the binkie in the morning so she'd go back to sleep for awhile, but we all survived the death of the bink.
She is a one-woman-tornado.  No drawer or cupboard is safe. Or bookshelf.  I don't remember any other kids being like this.  But she's so sweet and gives the best hugs and gets so excited whenever daddy gets home.  Jason thinks she says, "Hi dad," but it comes out, "I-da." He could be right.  We'll never know. But we love her. She is a ray of sunshine.