Your First Birthday

My Sweet Mia,

It is impossible to believe that you are already a year old.

It seems like just the other day that Daddy and I found out we were having a girl. He turned instantly pale, already fearing how he would protect you during the dating years and I immediately wondered how I would deal with all the pink, since that was never a favorite color of mine. As negative as that sounds, we were so excited to meet you and bring you into our lives. We are forever changed by you and your snuggly sweetness.



You were beautiful from the start. I couldn't believe how much you looked like your brother and yet had your own delicate features and light eyes. I remember holding you close in the hospital, as you donned your pretty pink cap, and thinking that I might just have to change my mind about pink.


Those first few months broke my heart because you were in such discomfort with your reflux and colic. I begged for a smile to warm my heart, but for so long you just didn't feel well enough to oblige me. Now, you are making up for it. Your toothy smile, your giggles and sweet belly laughs, the way you tilt your head to the side as if saying, "look how cute I am", every snuggle, every hug, every sloppy kiss, these are the things that make my heart smile.



I am daily amazed at how different you are from your brother. Your whole face lights up when you see a doll, stuffed animal or anything pretty. You are such a girl!



You do love music, just like Austin, and you bounce and dance when you hear tunes you like.



You are not walking, but you can cruise like a champ. Your favorite time to cruise is in the morning when Austin is grazing on his breakfast and you are on a mission to snatch as much of it as you can. I love the sly look on your face as you realize that he isn't paying attention and you have just scored a piece of sausage or banana.

You have begun to communicate and it is just precious. You know a handful of words in sign language and you use them well during meal times. I don't blame you for choosing "Daddy" as your first spoken word. You will almost certainly be a Daddy's girl since you have such a fun, playful, handsome daddy. I do appreciate that you have since added "momma" to your vocabulary, though that came after "Beau" (the dog), "yum-yum", and "hi."

Easily, one of my favorite things in the world is watching you and Austin together. You both love each other so much and though there are occasional disputes over "mine and yours", they are blurred by the overload of sweet moments. Every morning Austin wakes up and says, "I think Mia is awake" because he wants me to go get you so you guys can play. He loves taking a bath with you and playing peek-a-boo, hide and seek and "boop the binky." But, by far the cutest thing, is how the two of you hold hands in the car. I can hardly concentrate on driving. I hope you will always be such good friends.



Because you look so beautiful when you wear it, I am now a huge fan of pink. I just HAD to buy you a pretty, pink tutu for your 1st birthday. I wish I could have captured your face when you saw it for the first time. You beamed!



For some reason I never envisioned myself as the mommy of a girl, but you have changed all of that. I cannot imagine my life without you and all of your sweet, pink, girlyness.

I pray that this, your second year, will be filled with smiles, steps, words, laughs, inches, discoveries, memories and so much more.

Happy 1st Birthday my "love bug", "sweet pea", "peach."

I love you to the moon and back!

Mommy