A one year old...

I am the mother of a one year old little girl!!! And boy is she a little girl! The way she twirls, dances and "sings". The way she looks at herself in the mirror and says "pretty" whenever she puts on headbands or dresses, her crazy obsession with shoes. Oh what fun she is! I swear I cannot go more than 15 minutes without laughing during a day with her. It is so crazy to me that a little over one month ago she turned one. Its funny to me when other moms say "I don't even remember what it was like before I was a mom" while caressing their 5 month old. I for one do remember my life before her, but what I cannot remember is what it is like to not love her. Even though she has only been here for one of my twenty eight years, it feels as if I have always known her, that she has always been with me. Maybe that's because we fit so well together, that the love just flows so easily as if its always been. She really is so easy to love, with her giggles and squeals. The way she will sit in her reading nook for so long just flipping through her books. The way she LOVES to dance as if something inside her just bursts out whenever she hears music. How she will come up and give you a hug and a kiss, completely unprovoked, just because she wants to. I am truly a blessed woman to have such a love able soul as my daughter. The craziness that is motherhood is so worth just one of her smiles in the morning. So what if I don't sleep for a stretch longer than 2 hours, or that my shower doesn't get used as often as before. Who cares that I went to the store with 2 different flip flops on while wearing 2 pairs of sunglasses. Is it really that big of a deal that laundry is attacking my bedroom, and I haven't gotten a pedicure in months. Of course not. I am the mother of a toddler, my life will be a crazy mess until I no longer hold that title. And until that time comes, I will just keep on laughing and learning through all of the ups and downs that come along with being a first time mom to a very active, high need, beautiful little girl.

The following are a few photos from her first birthday...

And this is a favorite...