one whole year

cate is 1.
can one whole year really have gone by already?
can we actually be the parents of three (three!) children?
yes and yes.



this is the face of one of the happiest babies i know. lily and eme love to see cate wake up in the morning because she is just so darn sweet and snuggly! finally those top two teeth have made their way out to join the other two (she wasn't too happy or too sweet while that was occurring, though).

this baby is a daredevil. really, i am lucky that the only mark on her right now is a tiny, almost-healed scratch on the cheek. cate is a climber. she uses anything that she can to climb onto the sofa + chairs, the end tables, the girls' tea party table, the window sill, the sewing machine case (and when she gets onto that, she yells because she is stuck with no room whatsoever to maneuver). so far, there have been no major injuries, but it has not been for a lack of trying.









catherine elisabeth gaubert...you are our "sweet baby cate", the fifth member of our lucky little family. you are so loved by your big sisters! really, they absolutely adore you (and so do we). you are so happy, you actually take naps, you love to give kisses (which basically entails covering our noses with your wide-open mouth) and pat-pat-pat us when we hold + hug you. you don't have a lot of words yet, but i swear that you can just about sing parts of "happy birthday". you do like to say "duck" while you nod your head when we show you a duck (or a dog, and a pig, and just about anything else). you love blueberries, strawberries, melon of all kinds, and cheese. you get so excited when we pick up your sisters from school and when poppa comes home at the end of the day. you are silly. you make us laugh when you cover + uncover things while saying "ta-da". you rather shake your head "no" than "yes". you are very interested in other little kiddos that are close to your size, and you are quick to want to hug. you often carry a little basket on your arm, just like a little lady going off to market. you can spend quite a bit of time at your little kitchen + pantry shelf. you can play the harmonica (well, not really...but i swear that i am often surprised at how good it actually can sound when you are huffing + puffing into it) and you enjoy music, especially dan zanes and elizabeth mitchell. it seems as though you have been walking forever, thanks to your must-be-followed older sisters. sometimes i look at you and are amazed that you can be getting so very big when you are still so small.

you are our lovely baby girl, and i am so blessed to be your momma.