We're One Year Old

We did it! We've made it to the official one year mark as parents and our little Miss Nora is one year old today! How unbelievable, crazy and amazing is that? We never knew how to grasp the idea of bringing up a baby - information overload on websites and stories from other parents just don't do it justice but living it... wow! There is not one single day that's passes where we can not stop talking about our sweetheart and what she did and how cute she is and you won't believe what she did and my favourite... I can't believe she's ours!

Obviously, not all's so ooh and ahh and so sweet this and so sweet that... there were definitely trying times. I believe that if you ever asked me about having a 2nd kid in Nora's first 6 months, my answer was 'Are you kidding me? This is nuts, who would ever have 2 kids - one is plenty!'. But then as Nora interacts and learns more and you can see her personality shining through, you can't help thinking it would be kinda cool to have another kid. Oh but then the labour and the recovery (*cringe) and waking up throughout the night and sleep deprivation - hmmm.. must.learn.to.forget. :)

I think the most amazing thing for me has been watching Nora grow from a helpless-all-the-time-sleepy newborn into a happy-on-the-move baby. I am so fascinated by what it takes to learn new things and just what their view of the world must be. Life starts with a blank slate, nothing is known... they don't even know they have body parts, what they can do with it, let alone their minds and emotions. Now, I look at Nora and she can feed herself, she can walk, she can babble and can now give us hugs and kisses! It's soooooo fascinating!

The best part is also watching Trav be a dad. He loves her to pieces and it's just so heartwarming when he's always relaying the latest amazing, clever, smart and cutest thing that Nora did that day for him - he's such a proud dad (and he should be!).

And then there's being a mom. There are times when I don't think I can handle it and I can become very unsure of myself quite quickly but I've been so so very fortunate to have many support systems in place that I'm never alone. Nora really has been awesome and I can really feel the love she has for me through her smiles, her play and especially her cuddles when she reaches out to me for some comfort.

It's been a really wonderful year and we can't wait to see what's up next with our little bean.

Happy Birthday Nora, we are so proud of you and love you a bazillion times over!