I can't believe it's already here

Well, my baby is turning one! I can't believe it!!! I know this is cliche, but it really does seem like yesterday that I was in the hospital anxiously getting ready to meet our baby K.

Recently baby K has been getting more teeth. She has ten now, including two molars! She has also been learning to walk independently. She can take up to six steps on her own. She has learned to go up and down short flights of stairs, albeit precariously. But she has absolutely NO fear which is awfully worrisome. She goes down steps head first, approaches animals (like my siblings' cats) without hesitation, desperately tries to stick her fingers under the vacuum while it's running, and recently leaped off the edge of the couch when my back was turned for a moment. She has also discovered that she LOVES to "talk". Sometimes all I can do is laugh when she's sitting by herself playing with her toys and talking to them. She sometimes says, "tickle tickle tickle" and will pretend to tickle things. She "tickles" me, the carpet, her hair brush, her teddy bear, EVERYTHING. She has also learned to wave hello and goodbye really well and will sometimes tell people "hi." She is also developing a little bit of stranger anxiety and will get kind of shy around people who approach her directly that she's not really familiar with. I love to see her grow and can see little changes and progress every day.

Malone and I are still just plugging along. Malone passed his oral examinations and is now officially considered a PhD candidate. He just has to receive a first author publication and complete his research hours in the next couple of years before he writes his dissertation and has his defense. I say "just" but really it is quite a workload he has left ahead of him. But I am so proud of him for his accomplishments! This is a huge milestone that he just passed and now we're looking forward to completing the next.

I am still hard at work in my classes, work, and relief society duties. But foremost, of course, I love being a mom. I am anxious for the semester to conclude so that I can enjoy my summer vacation. Malone is looking forward to me having more free time as well. He has been so good at being supportive of my education goals. I am also anxious to get beyond my exam to qualify for my Social Work program. Wish me luck!

I will post later with pictures from our K baby's first birthday.