Charlotte turned one today and I’m not sure how you even begin to put that into words.  The past 24 hours have been an emotional roller coaster for me as this big day approached.  I’m not sure if I should be crying because my sweet baby Charlotte is one or if I should be congratulating us on making it through the first year.  And so goes this bitter sweet thing called motherhood.

We got to spend the day with Charlotte in Cabo and reflect on the last year, which is way better than being in labor, right?!  I remember when we brought her home and sat her car-seat on the counter in the kitchen and thought, “ok, so now what?”.  We really had no idea what to expect.  I think I set my expectations low so I didn’t completely lose it as a mother.  Charlotte has been such a delight from that very first day we got to meet her and call her ours.   She had this pleasant, familiar disposition about her.  Of course I loved and adored her from the beginning, but I didn’t expect that I would just really *like* her.  I like her intensity which we like to call spicy.  I like her independence and fearlessness.  I like her sweet side when she gives hugs to Prissy, her bunny, a newborn calf, and basically any animal.  I like when she starts dancing when a Justin Beiber song comes on.  I like that she shakes her head at me and tells me no (don’t tell her I ever said that).  I like her smiling face at 7… or even 6:30 AM.  I like to hear her giggle and will stop at nothing to get it out of her (thank you, Prissy).  I like that she is a “tough sell” just like her father.  I like how she sings to herself in the morning after she wakes up and is hanging out in her crib.  I like how she smells when I pick her up.  I like how determined she is to put the cap back on her food bottle.  I like how she likes to blow bubbles in the water and thinks she should be able to jump into the water and swim. I like that she’s traveled 32,278 miles on Delta with me in her first year – NYC, Italy, Hawaii, Vegas, Playa del Carmen, and Cabo.  I guess I just really like to be with her.  It’s such a blessing to have another wonderful person in our life and I don’t take that for granted.  She’s such a sweet little girl and this first year has been a complete joy of understanding how life’s value can be so much more than yourself.  Thank you, Charlotte!  Happy first birthday!