Her party is over and the BIG day is too close for comfort. (May 29th)
My sweet little baby is growing and changing, seemingly, each second.
"Hold on." "Don't blink." "Stop time." "Enjoy it."
One-year-old birthday parties are ridiculously fun. I tried to keep reminding myself that there is such a thing as: OVERBOARD. For those of you who feel that I went there...fair enough. But, in being true to myself, I wouldn't have done anything differently! I had so much fun crafting, decorating, cooking, and celebrating the love of my life. :) Poor Nathan, what a guy! We made multiple trips to the craft store, we spent so many of our evening making invites, decorations, and favors. We spent one Sunday afternoon at Party Source. And, our trip to the grocery store wasn't short of two hours long. My Sweet Girl will not ever turn one again. So, overboard it is!
Thank you to everyone who made the long day trip to Erie on Saturday. It meant the world to us that you'd give up your day to celebrate with our darling girl. The love that you've all shown us every step of the way is overwhelming. We want you to know how thankful we are.
My mom and dad gave Amelia this book for her birthday.
If I Could Keep You Little
by: Marianne Richmond.
As it turns out, the gift was more for Nathan and me. This book depicts the torturous dichotomy of wanting to keep her just the way she is and enjoying every bit of the growing up that she does. (I cry my way through it every time I try to read it.) Maybe the title of the book should be "Parenthood". Here is the text from the last page of the book:
If I could keep you little,
I'd keep you close to me.
But then I'd miss you growing
into who you're meant to be!
My mantra in the first couple months was, "If it weren't so much fun to watch her learn and change, I'd be devastated that she's growing so quickly." Today, almost one year later, is no different. I've never felt "bitter-sweet" as strongly as I feel it now. I can't wait to see what she'll do next but, each day I beg her to stay like "this" forever. I remember the moment that I met that little girl. After that moment, life was never the same again. I feel like I fully understand the map of her heart. I know her by heart. I know who she is now, and I'm so lucky to help her grow into the person she'll become.
The message is a good one for this mama, and I heard it loud and clear. I'm loving this wild ride. Boy does is go fast! Each moment is just as important as the one before it. I desperately MISS every single "yesterday"and cannot wait for each and every "tomorrow".
I guess I'll heed the advice of so many wise parents before me;
I'll hold on.
I won't blink.
I'll try to stop time.
And, good golly, I already enjoy it. :)
Here is our special day in photos (images are a bit blurry, I had to make the file pretty small so it would show up on your phones!):
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