Ava is 1!

So pictures will have to be added later, but I've found the time finally to post, and I wanted to take full advantage of it while I could! Unfortunately I'm still at work, but the girls are watching their allotted 30 minute show, and that's good enough for me!

So, without further adieu:

AVA IS ONE!!!!

Holy moly.

I took it better than I thought. Part of me was sad, yes, that a year could honestly pass by in the blink of an eye. But a larger part of me was excited; excited to see what the next year will bring, how much joy it will be filled with, how many firsts I'll get to experience.

Cliche as it may sound, this year has been the best year of my life. From the very first moment I saw her, until we blew out the candle on her first cupcake Tuesday night, this year was, above all, perfect.

Motherhood, despite being the ultimate goal I had set for myself and for my life, has far exceeded my expectations. It's so funny to think back on the time before Ava was born, as I frantically prepared for her entrance into our lives. I thought I was just so busy, and while - to my credit - I did have a lot going on, I didn't know what busy was until I had a baby on my hip (or my breast!) while unloading the dishwasher and mopping up spit up with my foot while trying to carry on a conversation with A's pediatrician. But these aren't complaints. Life may be different, but life is wonderful.

I can't pinpoint the exact moment I became a mother emotionally, but I look back now and remember what I felt when we talked about c-sections in our birth classes last November. When they were describing taking the babies away to clean them up, I told David, "You have to stay with me, ok?" How silly that seems now. How silly, in truth, it seemed just minutes before they pulled her out. Who cares what happens to me if my baby is alone and scared? Not I, says this mama!

In short, this has been a year of magnificent transformations. I not only have learned to care for A and taught her new skills, but she's taught me something irreplaceable: how to be a mother.

I love you dearly, little A. You're a miracle, every day, every minute. I adore you, my heart, my soul.

Happy first birthday!