3 Girls, A Guy: Our Life: One-derful!

Yesterday was an incredibly emotional day for me. Annie, my baby, turned one. I spent the morning at church, reflecting on the past year and how ridiculously insanely fast it has gone by. For parts of this year, I feel as though I experienced it at a distance. I remember the first year of Isla's life and mentally documenting each and every little moment... the day she cut her first tooth, the day she smiled, the first time she crawled and the list goes on. With Annie, it's difficult for me to pinpoint these moments and when precisely they occurred. This makes me sad. By no means does it say that I love Annie any less (the thought of this makes me hurt) but it just says that life is busy. Life with 2 girlies is a whirlwind... a daily dose of distractions that really pull me away from being totally present in each moment with Annie. After listening to a heart-wrenching, heart-changing message from our Pastor, I understood that I need to re-open my heart to the little things. And celebrate them like I am experiencing this all for the first time. The thought also hit me that this could possibly be the last time I celebrate my child's first birthday. Soaking in the day was really my focus, and of course, loving my baby like crazy.

This year with Annie has been a difficult one. And yet, the best year yet. Transitioning from one baby to two was a struggle for me. A tug-of-war of sorts... with myself, with Isla and with finding balance. But our lives were forever changed on February 24th, 2012 and for this, I am so utterly grateful. Annie is a captivating baby... one look into her beautiful eyes and she's got you. Her ample, toothless smile makes my heart melt every time. She is now a crawler, a stander (assisted by me, furniture) and still a mediocre sleeper, at best. Her appetite is ferocious... there is no food Annie has met that she doesn't like. I pray this continues into her toddler years. Her personality is emerging as the days go by. She can be coy and introverted but can also be the life of the party. She is an extremely tactile child... she explores and discovers her world through touching and feeling. I am head over heels in love with her and am looking forward to the next year of her blossoming life.

We celebrated the big day with family. Her community of loved ones showered her in adoration and kindness. We are blessed. We had a lovely dinner, opened her gifts (our family has incredible fashion sense!) and sang to her. She went to town on her cupcake and by the end of the night, she was a grumpy tired little one year old. She had a lovely day!