A year of firsts...

Warning: This is a very sappy post :)

I can't believe you, Elliana, have been in our lives for a year already. Tomorrow is your birthday and I find myself reflecting back on how wild and beautiful this year has been. A year ago today, your daddy and I were walking around the mall (I was very large and not in charge) hoping it would help me go into labor.

Well, it worked, and at 7am the next morning I had my first contraction. You were born at 3:18pm. The waiting room held all the grandparents, some friends and also 18 high school girls, that I coached. The team had skipped school to be in the waiting room. Three different nurses came in asking me "so what exactly do you do?" They were wondering why there were so many high school girls there!

You were beautiful from the day you were born. Everyone would say she is so pretty! We thought you were the most beautiful little girl we had ever seen!

One of my favorite memories is the second day, in the hospital. It was just the three of us laying on the bed in the hospital room, all day, watching TV and letting you sleep on our chests....it was the first full day we were a family.

The first few months were a blur, mainly from the lack of sleep. You Miss Ellie, were a HORRIBLE sleeper....you were up every 2 to 3 hours. Your dad and I would look at each other most of the time and didn't know whether to laugh or cry...we did both. There were many nights that your daddy would let me sleep and take you down to the basement where you would sleep on his chest, for most of the night. This was your favorite place to sleep.

It always seemed that you were always one step ahead as well. You didn't want to be held like a "baby" even at 2 months old. You wanted to face out and see what was going on around you. You were sitting up and scooting around long before you were "supposed" to be and baby food only lasted about a month. You wanted big girl food by 7 months! You have always been one step ahead and we hope you carry this with you all throughout your life!

This year has been a year of firsts; your first smile, tooth, tear, laugh, crawl, walk..... It has been the culmination of all these little moments that have made this year so extraordinary. You light up our lives every day with your big smile and zest for life. We love you more than you'll ever know.

A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank balance smaller, home happier, clothes dirty, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.

A daughter is the happy memories of the past, the joyful moments of the present, and the hope and promise of the future.

Happy Birthday Baby girl!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy