One Year

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KENNEDY MICHELE!

Dear Kennedy,

One year ago at exactly 7:27 a.m. (which also happens to be the publish time of this post), you made your grand entrance into the world weighing 7 pounds and 15 ounces. After a very long labor and delivery, you arrived with that cute cry and healthy as can be. It's incredible how fast this year has flown by. We have done a lot together, and we have had a memorable year with you.

You have changed our lives for the better. Watching you grow this past year has been an amazing experience. Your Daddy and I love you so, so very much. Your life is so precious, and you remind me every day of that. You are the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. Ever since you were diagnosed with your coloboma, I knew you would be different, but in an amazingly good way. We are thankful your vision is 100% normal, and everything you do has been developmentally on target.

Kennedy, you have been such an easy baby from the start. You have slept well (albeit with a few rough patches), you have successfully breastfed, and you have transitioned well when I had to go back to work, and then this fall when you started in your mother's day out program. You have even flown four roundtrip flights around America with zero problems!

It's awesome to see what a great little person you are growing to be. You have the sweetest personality. You have a hilarious sense of humor. You have a pretty good vocabulary (dada, mama, Dexter, uh oh, hey, ow, book, thank you). You even have a sense of musical rhythm (only a musician would notice this, right?).  You love trying new foods. You love a routine. You have even taken your first steps, granted you have only made it three steps so far.

As you're learning to take those steps, I will admit, sometimes I don't want you to grow and I wish you could stay a small baby forever - never having to worry about growing up in this cruel world and so I could protect you all of the time. But other times I feel so proud of you and I just know that you will be able to succeed in life. I will always be here to protect you, no matter what, and I can't wait to see where your journeys in life will take you.

Kennedy, being your mommy brings life new meaning. Thank you for making this year so incredibly special. Thank you for blessing my life so richly. 

And thank you, God, for my absolutely beautiful baby Kennedy.

Love,

Mommy