Happy 1st Birthday!!

So the day is here!! Your very first birthday! I can't believe you are one year old today....this year has flown by! And you are just as amazing today as you were the first day I saw your sweet face. It's been amazing to see how you've grown, learned, advanced, discovered and taken this life by storm. You are such a happy, carefree and joyous little girl...so full of wonder and curiosity about everyone and everything. It's so amazing to know that you have changed so many lives in just your short life! Even people you don't know are inspired by you and your life has changed how they view adoption and open adoption. How amazing is that??

One year ago, I woke up from probably the worst sleep I've ever had...I knew that I was going to have to stop keeping you all to myself and start sharing you with this world. My dad let me sleep in my parents bed with my mom..I think partially because I couldn't get comfortable with you in my tummy and partially because he knew I just needed my mom. That night I woke up several times crying and my mom would just hold me until I fell back to sleep.

The next day we woke up early to be at the hospital by 8 am. I was scheduled to go into surgery to have you delivered at 10 am. But apparently the hospital had other plans...we didn't end up going into surgery until about 2 pm! So you can imagine I was feeling pretty anxious having to wait an extra four hours! But we finally got down to the special room for c-section deliveries and 37 minutes later, you were here! I can't put into words how amazing it was to finally see you and hear your sweet cries. Once the nurses finished checking your vitals and measuring you, my mom was the first one to hold you. She brought you over to me, since I was still tied to this table and being closed up. I remember smiling so big my lip split open! I didn't even care though...you just made me so happy.

Once we got out of surgery, my dad was in my room waiting for us. He was also pretty smitten with you once he got to hold you! We spent those first few hours just enjoying you...and you spent those first few hours just sleeping. Being pulled out of my tummy must have been exhausting for you! You were so beautiful and just..perfect. I know every mom says that about their babies, but I have it on good authority that you were the cutest baby in the nursery. You just had this perfect fair skin, a little flush in your cheeks, and big beautiful blue eyes. You came out just the way God created you and that is perfect.

You were 7 pounds and 6.8 ounces big, 19 inches long. All ten fingers and all ten toes were where they were supposed to be. Your lungs and heart and mind were all in working order. You had quite the high pitched cry! (A singer, no doubt) And you fit perfectly in my arms. And you always will, sweet baby girl. No matter how old you are, I will always cherish holding you.

This last year has been amazing, Charlie. So much has happened, and there's still so much more that will happen! I just hope you know that no matter your age, the distance between us, what happens in my life or what happens in your life, I will love you relentlessly. Nothing in this world will ever change that.

Happy birthday!! Can't wait to see what this next year brings!!

xoxo