Dear Lily,

 Today you are a whole year old. ONE. And even though there were times that I thought it was difficult, you have made it the best year a new mommy could ask for. I had a dream when you were in my belly. In my dream I saw you and when I woke up I was sure of two things; that you were a girl and that you looked like your daddy. Well, you are indeed a girl and you look more and more like your beautiful daddy every day.

By the time you were ONE MONTH old, I already knew that time was passing far too quickly. Not only did I want to keep you tiny for awhile longer, but in all honesty I was scared out of my mind that I didn't really know what I was doing. We were beyond happy to be three, and not even sleepless nights could slap us out of our bliss. As you turned TWO MONTHS old, we felt more comfortable than we probably should've been but the sweet smile you gave us was enough reassurance to know that whatever we were doing, we were doing it well. At THREE MONTHS old it didn't seem like you were so new anymore, you were a real baby...as strange as that sounds. And if there were any doubt in anybody's mind, we were absolutely addicted to you.

FOUR MONTHS, if at all possible, was even more fulfilling and exciting than the previous ones. You were so happy. Such a good baby. Watching you discover everything around you made our day, and made them go quickly. Much too quickly. At FIVE MONTHS old, you hit milestone after milestone, as if to let us know that you were doing things your way. You were quiet, still, studious, taking every single thing in before you went after it. I don't know why, but I was surprised that you knew what you were doing. I'm certain that if you could speak, you would've said "Relax, mom. I've got it." By the time you were SIX MONTHS old I was no longer the over-protective mother that I had previously been. Sort of. Your daddy and I proudly took you to new places, to see new things, and to see more of this world. You drifted further from infant-hood as you had your first taste of food. And you just kept on growing.

SEVEN MONTHS old made me so proud. Everyone just loved you so much. You were a perfect shopping assistant, the best dinner date, and your favorite thing by far was watching me get dressed and put on makeup. Every day, I took my powder brush and dusted your nose which would send you into a giggle. At EIGHT MONTHS old you experienced a world of firsts, and I stopped giving myself credit for how great you were and accepted the fact that you were great all your own. It was painfully clear that you were very much becoming more independent. There were times more often in the day that you could sit and entertain yourself, probably for hours had I allowed it. I was nowhere near ready to give up cuddling you all day long. And I'm still not. NINE MONTHS was huge. We knew that you were inching closer to being a toddler and we were excited. But we didn't like it.

It was only when you turned TEN  MONTHS old that your daddy and I realized that we were still learning. And you were teaching us. You taught us so much. You were older and that brought more challenges. But to us, you were still the best baby. ELEVEN MONTHS old was unreal. It seemed impossible that eleven months had passed. Yet, somehow, they had. You were taking off every which way, next to me one second and gone the next. I, again, had to restrain myself and allow you to be free and be yourself. Something that I know I will have to remind myself for the rest of my life.

Now, you are TWELVE MONTHS old. You are such a big girl. You are so smart. You're such a breathtaking little creature.You are your own little person, and no longer a little extension of me that I can guard and keep to myself. You're a wonder-er, and I hope that never goes away. We want so much for you. Daddy wants you to be president. I want you to be a ballerina. We want more than anything for you to be happy. We want to show you the rest of the world. We want you to know that even though you are not spoiled with many toys or other things, you are completely spoiled with our love and that will only become greater and will last you a lifetime. We want you to feel like you have everything, without possessing a single thing. We want you to wake up every single day feeling like you have the best life, no matter what troubles you face.

We want to wish you a very happy first birthday! Daddy sang happy birthday to you this morning, and we covered you in kisses. We will do all of your favorite things today and I'll keep pictures for you to have of this day for when you are older. We love you more than anything in the whole world! We can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Love you FOREVER,
Your Mommy and Daddy