When your baby turns one...

All the suden, they go from an infant to a toddler. Over night.
You realize that once upon a time, when they were first born, their nose was a lot bigger then it seems to be right now.
You suddenly get excited for watching someone else open gifts.
You don't mind spending all day on all fours.
You let your house become a mess, because it seems like the child likes it better that way any ways.
You are willing to let them indulge in as much sugar as they desire, just to stick to tradition and to see them smile.
You feed them lots and lots of black beans, because they are baby cakes favorite. =]
You realize how life really hasn't change much since you first had her. I still wake up in the middle of the night- when I was pregnant it was to pee, when she was a newborn it was to nurse, and now I do to make sure she is safe.
You try to remember how you ever thought you never had any time before- and envy those who say, "Oh, I am going to school I have no time" and wish you had that much time.
You don't mind the awkward stares you get when you walk around, being so young with a baby. You realize how much you, and she, have accomplished- and how much more life has to offer. 
You don't quite understand how in the world you could possibly make more room in your heart, or your family, for more. But I am sure I thought the same thing before!
You wish everyone could know how amazing it feels when your baby gets EXCITED to see her daddy at the end of the day- because it is her daddy and she loves you both. 

When your baby turns one,
You wonder how you ever lived without her.
How did you fill the times of your day without the constant worry of "is she still breathing alright?", "Is  that piece of food to big", or "Will she pull something off and knock herself with it?".
You wonder what you could have ever found more funny that a baby sucking on a lemon for the first time, the displeasing look they get eating a food they do not like, or being tickled.
You wonder how life could get better, how you could get any happier.


You know that your baby will continue to get older- and that is a fact. And you (okay, I) have accepted that.
What I cannot accept is that she will forget how happy she was today.
How content she was, in love we all were with each other today.
She will continue to grow up and forget about the things that matter most- and start to worry about things that have to matter.

When your baby turns one, reality starts. The first year seems like a trial run, but now things get serious. It no longer is a year of mile-stones waiting to happen. Now the teaching, learning, growing, begins.

And things can only get better from here.