First Year

Dear Nora,

Almost two weeks have gone by since your 1st birthday and I finally feel like I can put what I want to say into words. That Saturday night of April 23rd, I was rocking you before bed and the tears started flowing. And flowing. I couldn't stop. Don't worry though. They were happy tears. They were overwhelmed with love and thankfulness tears. They were also Easter tears.

You see, your 1st birthday was the day before Easter. And as I rocked you in the dark of your room I couldn't help but think of what Easter is all about. I couldn't stop thinking about the sacrifice that God made knowing his son would die. For us. I thought about the love God had for his son and has for us. And the love I felt for you weighed so heavy I could barely breathe. And I started to think about the years prior to your birth, and the babies we never were able to rock to sleep. And I thought about the months I spent in bed and in the hospital. And the month we spent with you at Children's before you could come home. And I cried. I cried because here I was holding this perfect little child. A child that I am so blessed to be a mommy too. And I couldn't imagine our lives without you. Our family unit feels complete with you here.

Well, prior to mommy's little breakdown we had a great day! We celebrated you and your amazing first year of life. There was cake and hats and lunch and decorations and family and friends. Most importantly family and friends.

As we were preparing for your big day, we looked around our house one day and thought, "Nora really doesn't need any new toys!" You see your big sister saved so much for you. And you love it all. What more did you need? So we asked our generous family & friends to bring donations instead. We wanted to give to the March of Dimes and Children's Hospital Neonatal Unit. We also thought if people wanted to donate diapers we would give those to the Tubman Center. In the end we raised over $200 and 700+ diapers! So thankful!

We are really enjoying you at this age right now. Your personality is starting to really shine through. You LOVE to wave and blow kisses. You answer questions with head nods and hand gestures. You are really close to walking! I don't think it will be long. You are getting braver and braver every day. And teeth! You finally have your first tooth starting to come through. We wondered when this day would come.

The best part of this age though is how you interact with your big sister. You follow her around. Where Anna is Nora must be too. You just love to be next to her. And at this moment in time, Anna loves having you near by. You giggle together and smile at each other and bump foreheads as your sign of affection. I can tell that you will be best friends for life. Mommy gets a little teary eyed when I see you two together.

Nora, you are such a blessing in our life and we thank God for you and your sister every day! Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are living in the moment and enjoying every little piece of your second year!

Love you to the moon and back!

Mommy