Birthday Thoughts

Dear McKenzie,

Today you are one year old. It’s hard to believe that you’ve been in our lives for a year and for only a year. On one hand, it’s amazing that this year has gone by so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive. Oh. Man. Your dad and I were excited, scared, nervous and totally unprepared for the way you were about to change our lives.

On the other hand, you have changed so much in just twelve months that it seems like you have been around forever. We say things like “Remember when she was just rolling over,” as if it was years ago, when in fact it was just a few months back. You’ve gone from just being there to wiggling to rolling over to sitting, crawling, standing and now walking in such a short amount of time. And we’ve enjoyed just about every second of it. The inconsolable crying you do when you started teething was not fun. Any parent who says they loved that is lying.

You’re enjoying a morning nap right now and I’m trying to hold it together as I write this birthday post. It’s just too hard to describe the amount of joy and happiness that you have brought to our lives. And not just our lives, but to your grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends’ lives. I’m pretty sure you even convinced Brittnee that babies aren’t so bad. Now that’s a feat!

The first year is, well, a year of firsts! Everything was new to you and us. Even small things like diaper changes were exciting. That’s right… I had never changed a diaper until you came along. And now I can do it in about ten seconds flat, assuming you’re distracted and not turning over to bare your little butt! The first sweet little noises have changed into insanely loud screams at times and funny little grunts when you get walking too fast. The first bout of vomiting that sent us to the after-hours clinic was certainly an unwanted first. Your diagnosis was vomiting and I’m sure the nurses snickered at us rookie parents as we left. Your first day with Mrs. Nancy that turned into day after day with a lady that really loved keeping you for us made it a little easier to get through my work day without you. Your first meal of rice cereal has blossomed into a love of chicken, turkey, ham, peas, waffles, Cheerios, blueberries and almost anything else we put in front of you. So many firsts. And I know there are many more to come.

McKenzie, I love you. That sounds simple enough, but hopefully one day you will understand how deep and wide that love runs. And your dad isn’t real into this blogging thing, but he loves you like no other. His heart is so big, but I think you’ve got just about every piece of it by now. So, keep it coming little baby girl. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us during year two!

Every bit of our love,

Mom and Dad