on your first birthday

OK, so you are one year old. We can't quite believe it. We really won the baby lottery with you. Sure, you are a tiny bit crankier than you were as an infant but with teeth making their way through your gums, who wouldn't be?

We've done our best with you so far, little bear. Your Mum made sure you still have human milk and don't have to go to a cow for at least another month. Our freezer is full of frozen cubes of green beans, peas, squash and yams. We try to read to you about three books a day. We try to teach you new things and make sure you are heard but that you also know how to listen. We get waaaaay too excited to see you first thing in the morning and (don't tell) we almost always sneak in and check in on your while you are sleeping to make sure the monsters are at bay. We think of you during the day every day and smile. We think about how we can give you the best present and future, but ultimately, you are you.

We'd love to think that all the things we have done have had some profound effect on you - that we are shaping your little mind into something wonderful and that all the brilliance in your soul is somehow due to the little things we do. But ultimately we're pretty sure that we haven't done anything except not mess you up too much yet. You are a stunning little girl with a gentle, sweet soul. You love to laugh and, when you do, everyone around you lights up and laughs with you. You are curious and unafraid to try new things (except new foods - you always make a face like we have just given you mouse remains). You are diligent: you study the problem on your own and figure it out (like stacking cups in descending size order to build a tower).

You stand up proudly but you're happy crawling. You won't walk with us holding both hands but will if we are only holding one (i think you might be a little independent). You are stubborn about doing things yourself and opinionated about the things you like and don't like (we have NO idea where you get this trait from). You are a happy, happy, sweet little girl and it is our job to make sure we give you every opportunity to stay that way. You make us want to be better people. You make us want to be the parents we think you deserve. We love you in an deep, unshakeable and cosmic way.