Letter to Anna: Month Twelve

Dear Anna,

Holy moly, it’s been an entire year since you were born!! I remember when my water broke around midnight on your birthday, I was excited, nervous, and anxious all at the same time. I could NEVER in a million years have imagined how many smiles you would bring me this year, how many laughs we’d share (ok, a lot of them were you laughing at me, but that makes me laugh), how tired I’d be, how worried I’d be that I was doing the right thing for you, but most importantly, I could never have imagined how much love I’d feel for someone I’d known for such a short amount of time. You are truly a blessing to our family and to me! You have changed my world for the better!

Your personality is really shining through and you are such a sweet, and yet funny, little girl. You love to laugh, you love to make others laugh, and you love being around a crowd. You have yet to go through any form of stranger anxiety, although you will occasionally show a preference for me or your Dad, usually only when you’re tired or for the first few minutes in a new situation. You remember your grandparents and aunts and uncles like no time has passed when they visit and are showing off any new skills within minutes. You love to play coy and will often times hold in a laugh until you just can’t bear it anymore when being tickled; it’s really the cutest thing ever. You also love an audience and will make sure all eyes are on you as you practice as new skill; these days it’s walking, either by holding someone’s hands or with your dinosaur. You love to give hugs and kisses, to your Dad and me, to the cats, to your friends at school, and to your stuffed animals. That’s really your first instinct when you meet another child or baby, your pat them on the back and then lean in for a big hug. We shared a few minutes to ourselves on Mother’s Day yesterday before everyone else was awake and you gave me the best and biggest hugs ever. It made my entire day! I love that you are such a lovey-girl and I hope we’ll always be able to snuggle up together.

You love to eat and are eating table food full time now; you’re really a bit of a piggy, but in a great way. We try to feed you whatever we’re eating, with few exceptions, and as long as we can cut it up into small enough bites, you will eat almost anything we put in front of you. I could list all that you’ve eaten, but that would take up this entire letter, so I’ll highlight that your favorites are hot dogs (organic turkey dogs, to be exact), sweet potato bites, Mom’s mac’n’cheese, and peas. You get a veggie and/or fruit with each meal and you generally go for those foods first, I sure hope that love of fresh foods keeps up. You are still nursing once a day, in the morning, and we made the transition to sippy cups this month, so no more bottles. We took the cups to school one day to see how well you’d do with a cup at one feeding and you did so well that we went straight to the cup for all of your feedings that day and there’s been no turning back. Although I shouldn’t have been, I was shocked that we cut out bottles so easily, shocked and also a little sad, as it was another step toward your independence. My favorite time of the day is our morning nursing session, and we’ll go through those motions until you decide you’re too big for that, but until then I’ll cherish every little smile I get as you start your day, the few minutes I where I get to hold your hand, and the last few days of our extra-special bond.

You are a lover of all animals, the neighborhood dogs, Milo and Daisy, your stuffed animals, and you love reading about them. You also love being outside and we spend a decent portion of our time after school and before dinner hanging out with the other kids in the neighborhood, walking around the cul-de-sac, playing in the grass, and if you’re lucky, a few doggies will walk by that you get to pet. If you’re standing at the front door and see another child or a dog walking by, you start squealing with delight until we take you out to greet them; I love that you’re so friendly and can’t wait until you’re running circles through the yard. You’ve also started forming real attachments to some of your stuffed animals. You have a frog that you sleep with each night and if you’re not totally conked out when we put you to bed, you will spend a few minutes talking to him about your day. You also wake up and tell him about your dreams. One day last week I went to get you in the morning and you were talking to your frog, and I lifted you out, apparently prematurely, because you fussed a little and pointed to your crib. I put you back in the crib, you picked up froggy, bounced him on your knee and told him one more story before looking back at me and lifting your arms in the air, letting me know that *now* you were ready to get up.

You are looking and acting so grown up lately. With spring has come warmer temperatures and you’ve been donning shorts on warmer days and now wear walking shoes. The first day we saw you in your “big girl” outfit, your Dad and I almost died simultaneously; you looked so grown-up and we both asked “where did our baby go, and who left us with a toddler?!?” You have now have your two top front teeth and the two teeth on either side are working their way in as well, further proof that we have no control over your transition to being a “big kid”! You were “served papers” last week at school and will be moving up to the older Infant room the week after next. I know you’re ready, and you’ll move up with your two friends, Kaylee and Audrey, but I’m still in shock that you won’t be in the “baby” room any longer.

You haven’t taken any official first steps yet, but you love assisted-walked, either with us or behind your dinosaur and are standing on your own for extended periods of time. You definitely know where you want to go and when, and would walk in circles around the house all day if we’d let you, or if you could figure out the steering on your dinosaur. It’s surreal to see you toddling around the house and we’ve (finally) started to baby-proof for your safety. You weren’t’ a fan of the gate we put up at the bottom of the steps and find it lame that we won’t let you play with electrical cords, but alas, you still find ways to have fun and keep us on our toes.

You had a great first birthday and all of your immediate family was at your party to celebrate your big milestone. You loved the attention, enjoyed playing with the tissue paper that wrapped many of your gifts and were very spoiled. You love the balloons and flowers we had around the house, but loved your birthday cupcake even more. You literally dove in head-first and I’m pretty sure icing may now be your favorite food. I stayed relatively calm the entire the entire day and it wasn’t until I checked on you before I went to bed that the flood of emotions poured over me. My little baby girl is turning one. Where did the time go? Did I savor enough memories? Yes, I assured myself, all good things come to an end, and I truly believe that the best is yet to come!

I could go on and on and on about what a special girl you have blossomed into over the past year, but part of me knows that little girl was in there from the beginning and you’re simply able to express yourself now. You bring joy and happiness to everyone you meet. At school other teachers will come into your room to get a “dose of happy” by playing with your or getting a hug from you. You’ve never met a stranger and I truly believe that your goal in life is to make the world a better place, one person at a time. If that’s the case, then you’ve succeeded so much in the first year that your work is done. That said, I can’t wait to see what a difference you’ll continue to make in every life you touch. You’re special beyond description, your happiness is contagious, and I’m still trying to figure out how I got so lucky. I hope today is as special as you are and I look forward to celebrating your birthday today, and throughout the year. I feel honored and blessed that God chose me to be your Mom and I love you more than I can even begin to express.

Love,
Mom

** Posted at 6:53pm, the exact time I met my little angel for the first time : ) **