I felt sad on March 11th... looking at my daughter and thinking, today is the last day that you are a "baby". The year went by too fast- I want to hang on to her babyhood, I want to bottle her baby smell, I want her skin to stay this soft and chubby, I want to record every coo.
I love this stage.
But then we woke up on her birthday and I looked at my one year old and I thought--- this is the first day of the toddler years--- how exciting.
The baby year was the most joyous and most challenging year of my life. The first few months were especially tough. But when I look back, my highlight reel just plays the joyous moments over and over again. I forget about the exhaustion and the pain and the anxiety I felt daily (I still have anxiety but it's much less). I just remember the snuggles, wrapping her in the Moby and going for walks, taking her to restaurants in the car seat while she slept, waking up every hour to check on her to make sure she was "still breathing", all the congratulations from family and friends and even strangers.
This was the best year of our lives.
People say that the day their child was born, was the best DAY of their life.
That was a great day-- but every day since, has been better.
TODAY is the best day of my life.
We love you Dayvia Hope. Happy FIRST birthday!
