A year! It's impossible to believe it. On one hand, it doesn't seem like it's been that long - it went so quickly. On the other hand, I feel like you've been with me my whole life. You are such a dynamic little person. I can't conceive of what life was like before we had you.

Here is what you are up to these days:

• You are a certified walker. You don't crawl at ALL anymore. This all happened about a week after your 11 month birthday. It was a very fast progression once you got the hang of what you were doing. Now you're working on your speed and form. You're just about ready to run, but you still look kind of drunk.

• Your favorite thing in the world is music. You are addicted to it. If we are in the living room or library, you insist on having the CD Player on. You walk over to where it sits on the mantel, stand below it and point with both hands, legs slightly spread, ready to dance. If we don't respond quickly, you start yelling.

• Once the music starts, you are a dancing fool. You bounce up and down, bob your head, and move your hands back and forth (jazz hands). You also like shaking your Michigan pom poms or your maracas. You got some new instruments from Moppy for your birthday, and you love those too. Your favorite is this cool wooden percussion instrument called a Rothromel. I think you are probably the only 1 year old that plays the Rothromel.

• We go to music class every Friday morning. You ignore me completely. You stand with the other families or just go off on your own and stand in front of the mirror dancing. You are very independent.

• You are still a great eater. Now that you are one, you can pretty much eat anything. You love junk food like cheesecake and doughnuts, but you get just as excited about sauteed spinach or peas.

• You are talking a little bit more, but a lot of the words sound the same (da da). However, you have one new exciting word that sounds different than anything else; apple. You have also learned the sign for "shoes" though you do it a little differently than the standard way. It's supposed to be knocking your two fists together, but instead you take one of your pointer fingers and poke it into the palm of your opposite hand. You seem to enjoy making up your own signs for things. Your famous jazz hands mean music, dancing and happy.

• You enjoy being read to, but you also love looking through your books on your own. Your favorite is "That's Not My Kitten". You like to kiss the kittens. You love all books with things to feel or do, like fuzzy animals, or flaps that lift up.

• You have no favorite stuffed animal, but you are becoming rather attached to your little pillow. You sleep holding it every night, and usually when we come in your room in the morning, you are standing up holding it.

• Your sleep is still erratic. You've slept the whole night through a few times, but also have nights when you wake up one or two times.

• You still have just four teeth, but I think you are cutting another one or two, as you have been a bit cranky in the evenings, which is not like you at all.

• You love people. When we are in a restaurant, you wave and say "hi" to everyone that walks past or is sitting nearby. If they ignore you, you yell or make funny noises until you are acknowledged.