Watching her grow...

My little darling, she is almost one year old already! Gosh I remember when I was still carrying her inside me and thinking how far away and seemingly intangbile her one year birthday seemed. She has changed sooo much, discovering herself: her likes, dislikes, meeting herself face-to-face in playful mirror games, bravely going where she hasn't gone before-which is pretty much EVERYWHERE she can get access to! :) She is being introduced to the world and it's surroundings more and more...and I myself am being introduced to her developing and discovering it too...moment by moment. And it's both exciting yet accompanied by some heart ache...this beautiful little blessing who knows no wrong and bad in this world will one day discover that it contains disappointments, challenges, and trials ...and thinking of her first encounters with these is something I have a hard time accepting. I keep thinking of the words to a song that I chose to be for her...like our song together (yes I tend to do corny things like picking songs for people). The song is by Plumb and it's called "In My Arms"...it is beautiful, combines the softness of new-born love and gentleness with a touch of the contradicting struggles and reminders of reality. I encourage you mommies (and everyone else for that matter!) to check it out.

Anyways, all in all even though for me the significant milestone of turning one is a bittersweet one...it is overall a very exciting one! And I am soooo thankful and happy to be sharing in this event and walking beside my little lovey as we both experience it together! She has grown and learned and accomplished so much in this year...and I can't even begin to imagine the many things she will be learning the following year! In fact, that brings me to my next thought...I have a habit of constantly wondering "What will she be like? How will she behave? What things will she be learning and doing years down the road?" Then I realized...Stop. Don't look ahead to the what-if's just yet.....enjoy and bask in the joys of the todays. Take in each new step, each new word-even if it is just a partial word/sound/babble concoction mustered up from an oh-so-adorable baby mouth. Keep cruising along with her , and not just in the physical movements, but in the bonding. Anticipation of how things might be a year from now just takes up time that could be spent on growing together now...so again-STOP the wondering and thinking about down the road, and focus on the steps taken together to get there, with all the wonderous joy and beauty each one brings...