The most fantastic year of my life!

It's official. My baby will be one years old in nine days! I really can't believe it. I'm sure all of my friends out there whose own babies have recently turned or are going to turn one can relate. It seems like yesterday that we were picking up my pain pills at the local pharmacy that a women asked how old our baby was and I replied with a huge smile, "one day old." I can still remember everything about that day. Can it really have been a year ago. It doesn't seem possible. Throughout this last year I have loved and cherished each time a stranger in a store has asked me how old my baby was. I wear Avery like a badge of honor. My perfect little creation. Each time I was asked this question I would beam back at the asker and respond. When she was a day I was so proud of this new life that Jeff and I had created. When she was three months I was so excited that I had kept her alive for that long. At six months it was so fun to see how alert she was and I knew the only reason people were asking her age was because she was the most remarkable baby in the world. There were times I remember wondering if the thrill of telling someone your child's age ever wears off and I honestly do not think it does. They just keep changing and growing and with each new change there are so many more reasons to be so proud of the stage that she is at. I am guessing as she gets older people won't ask her age as often but I have a feeling I'll be volunteering it at every chance. This is Avery my first grader. She's the smartest first grader in the world. There's so much to look forward to. This last year has flown by but I can honestly say there's not a second of it I don't remember and cherish for what it was. Even the three a.m. feedings - a chance for me and my baby to be all alone in the middle of the night. The days when she didn't feel good and I got to comfort her. All the worry of whether or not the bumpers would suffocate her or if she would choke on a graham cracker. Getting up every two hours to make sure she was still breathing. These times made me the mother that I am and I wouldn't take any of them back. Then there were the most fantastic days, her first smile, her first laugh, the first time she said Mamma. What a trip. I could never have imagined what life would be like with Avery and now I can't imagine what it would be like without her. The excitement of what she will bring us this next year is almost consuming. So here's to the most fantastic year of my life. Thank you thank you all for being a part of it.