Our Baby is One!

Wow...a year ago today we were in the hospital welcoming our beautiful baby girl into the world. After an incredibly long labor and the best invention in the world-the epidural-she made us a very happy family of three. In a way the year has flown by but I think Mike and I made an effort to really cherish every moment so that we wouldn't wonder where all the time went. Carina has, of course, grown and changed so much in year, but Mike and I have as well. We've both learned a lot about ourselves as we strive to be the parents we want to be to our daughter. I still can't believe our baby is one year old. She will always be our baby, even though my weekly email updates about her development started calling her a toddler today...sniff...so here is a letter to my baby on her birthday:

Dear Carina Bean,
Happy Birthday baby girl! You are 1 year old today. A year ago today you made your Daddy and I the happiest people in the world because you made us your parents. We didn't even care that you were 12 days late or that we had to spend 2 of those days in the hospital hoping modern medicine would help urge you along. Daddy forgot all about the uncomfortable night he spent sleeping in the chair/bed as soon as he held you in his arms for the very first time. All of the pain I had experienced instantly disappeared as soon as I heard you cry. That moment was so surreal but I will never forget it because it changed my life for the better.
You are sleeping in your room while I am writing this, which is a blessing because sleep has been our biggest struggle. You've finally started sleeping all night...I really don't know how your Daddy and I have functioned for an entire year without a full night of uninterrupted sleep, but hopefully that is behind us now. You still hate to take naps for a decent length of time but I've learned to stop stressing out about that. You are always such a happy girl with an infectious smile so I shouldn't worry.
You learn things so quickly it's amazing. You sing the Ee-i-ee-i part of Old Macdonald had a Farm...no "O" yet but that will come soon I'm sure! You can say Mama, Dada, Baby,Papa, Gigi, Mimi, Kitty, Bailey (Bay), more, cheese, shoes, juice, book, bye bye and hi. You also say "Na" which at first we thought was "no" but we think you might be trying to say your name!
You love to dance-You swing your arms around and shake your head to the beat. (Yay! Our girl has rhythm!) You love to do "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes". We dance to the song "All I Want to Do" by Sugarland and you start to laugh as soon as you hear it come on.
Carina I could go on and on about you. You are such an amazing child and your Daddy and I look forward to watching you grow and learn and become the person you were meant to be. We will always be here to guide, comfort, and support you with the choices you make. Thank you for being our wonderful little Carina Bean!
All our love, hugs, and kisses,
Mommy & Daddy