A Letter to Leah

Today is Leah's first birthday and while the birthday girl is having her nap I thought that I would post a letter from me to her....

Dear Leah,

Around this time last year you joined our family and we became a family of four.  After arriving a bit early and a lot faster than your older sister, I got to hold you.  After months of wondering what you looked like, I got to see you and kiss your big cheeks that you unfortunately got from me (don’t worry, they sort of go away when you get older).  I got to touch those feet that had kicked me so many times during the night.  I was so happy that day, the day I became a mom of two beautiful girls and you make me happy every day.  And now you are a year old.  You are no longer that little tiny human who slept most of the day, who sometimes would look at me, who only cried a little when you were hungry.  You are no longer that baby who I would take wrapped in many blankets into the living room during all hours of the day to feed – just you and me.  Now, you are a big girl, well you are on your way to becoming a big girl like your sister and I am full of mixed feelings. I am sad at how fast your first year has gone but I am excited to get to know more about who you are.  I sometimes wish we could go back to those very early mornings sitting on the couch just you and me when we could snuggle.

This past year you have learned so much and have made me smile and laugh at how silly you are.  I am amazed at what you have learned on your own like how you figured out how to crawl first by pulling your body across the floor when you tried to get a book from your sister and me.  Then you taught yourself how to crawl on your hands and knees and while sometimes I ask you stay still, inside I love watching you crawl all over the house (I could do without you trying to get into the toilet though).

I love watching you flip through the many books in our house and I hope that you will become an avid reader; actually you kind of don’t have a choice in that.

I love that you love playing peek a boo, especially when you want to play when you are supposed to be going to bed or when you call me into your room at the middle of the night to play.  I love how right now you learned to cover your whole face with your hands especially when I can sometimes still see one of your eyes.

I love how you laugh at anything, mostly at your sister but its hard not to laugh at her isn’t it?  I love watching you and her play with each other and how much you love her and how much she loves you.

I love how curious you are about the world and how you love looking outside your window. You don’t even wait for daddy or I to lift the blinds for you either.

I hope that the years to come don’t fly by as fast as your first year did, but if they do, I want you to know how much Daddy and I love you, how important you are to the family, and how we will always be there for you- no matter what.  As I tell you every night, I love you to the moon and back. With everything that you have learned this year, from saying “momma” to cruising around the same coffee table that I and your sister both learned to walk with, I am excited to see what you will learn next.  Happy Birthday Leah!