And then she was one

"the days are long but the weeks are short..."

That is what Tammy told me. That is what I heard the librarian say and so it must be true as now Alyssa is officially one year older (and maybe slightly wiser, too).

Alyssa, your first little year has been filled with so much adventure. You came just in time for graduation and a 4 week stint in Provo.

Then you moved to Las Vegas. Oh the oppressive heat that made it hard to breathe. Oh the fun days with Lauren and Emma by the pool and at the park and just watching movies. Oh the drives to SLC and back and the plane rides when you weren't even 2 months old yet. Oh the aunts and uncles who came to visit and slept with one eye open to watch out for bugs. Mmmm...it seemed hard then. It wasn't all that bad. Maybe we'll go back someday. We lived...cockroaches and all...we made it through newborn he** (sensitized for those with pre-school eyes). We made it through suffocating heat. We made it through tile floors and black black streets.

4 months gone by and we moved again. This time the adventure took us on a 3,000 mile road trip. We saw Grandma and Grandpa Nelsen and Grandma and Grandpa Archibald and aunts [Claire and Maria] and uncles [James, Taylor, Jacob, Ben, Doug, and Porter]. We saw rainy rainy storms and rabid squirrels. We spent 2 weeks living out of a suitcase and you didn't even know or care. You were still so small but we were sure that you were ready to walk and talk...now I know better.

And here we are. Delaware. 7 months come and gone. You walk now, bang your lolly sticks together, pick up cigarette butts off the road, sleep through the night, flip through books, suck your thumb and play with the ties on your soft pink blanket. You love your food...hot dogs, apple sauce, oranges, grapes, cheese, apple juice, chicken nuggets, and fruit loops. MMM...you would eat ALL day if I let you. Just last Sunday while all the other kids in nursery were playing you sat by yourself drinking your water and eating your goldfish...{ain't nothing better}. You play outside on the little porch. You take apart computers with daddy. You love your shoes and your once despised bouncer.

You are fun and vivacious. We love spending [almost] every minute with you. We are excited for another year or growth and development. We hope that hair stays red and that the thumb sucking eventually stops. You are our greatest joy. We love you!