Happy Birthday, Amelia!

Dear Amelia,

Oh, my Baby Girl, where do I begin? You are ONE today! It's hard to believe that you've been with us for a whole year already, but it's also almost impossible to imagine life without you too. My Big Girl, my Sweetie Potato, my Cutie-Patootie-Toots, my Baby Girl. You are a dream to me and that's saying a lot because I didn't really think that anything could top being your brother's mom. But then you came along (and didn't TOP him, don't worry J-Man), and just...nestled right in there, right in that extra space in my heart that I didn't even know I had. Suddenly my love for my children just multiplied, instead of having to share real estate in my heart. I love you each differently and samely and intensely and forever...but that's not what this letter is about.

This letter is about you, my BG:

• You suck your thumb just like both your mom and your dad. You started this pretty much from Day 1 (or 2) and rely on it for comfort. It's really stinkin' adorable. (Except I hope you don't think you can get away with this habit as long as I did...)

• You are your Daddy's girl through and through in the looks department, though he's just the middleman because you really look like your Omi (Daddy's mom). Daddy shared his blue eyes and curly, light-colored locks with you and you wear them well. (I've been asked on more than one occasion if you're really my daughter, given that you look nothing like me.)
• You love your precious "Taggie" blanket and it goes beautifully with that thumb-sucking thing noted above. I'm not sure you could get any cuter when you grab it and bury your face in it.
• You understand sign language and even return a few signs to us: "airplane" (since we live in a fly zone, we have ample opportunity to discuss this one), "milk," "more," "all done," and I *think* you signed "water" the other day but I'm not sure. I love seeing you sign because it's like watching your brain work and grow.
• You talk too! "Dada" was your first word, but now you usually call him "Daddy" or "Dad." You call Jackson "Da-da" now...it's a little confusing but we totally get you in context. You also say "Hi" to everyone (you charm A LOT of strangers this way) including yourself in the mirror and this also usually serves for goodbyes. "Cat" is another of your first words. You ADORE our cat, Simon, and he's surprisingly tolerant around you. If you keep up the gentle behavior with him, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

• You sing and babble a lot too, but that's mostly when your brother's not around. You and I just went on a solo shopping trip to Target last night and you sang the whole way home. Were you happy to not have your brother in the car (a.k.a. The Singing Police)? I loved it and smiled the whole way.• You are stubborn and opinionated just like the rest of your immediate family members, but you also have this strange sense of calm where you display your "perma-grin" expression when things get a little crazy. I think you must know something we don't know.

• You are--and always have been--a good baby. Despite what your father says. He just has a short memory from when Jackson was small and misses his sleep. You could be a thousand times worse and we are grateful you are not. The smiles outweigh the cries by far.

• You love to talk on your toy phones and mimic other things we do. You are always really watching us and picking stuff up.
• You are always watching your big brother Jackson and I think you mostly love him. But your dad and I also cheered for you big time when we saw you start to push him around a bit this week. You go, Girl! (We told him "Baby Amelia" wouldn't be a baby forever...)
• You just started to walk this week! Just a few days before your first birthday! Your concentration in this area is so awesome to watch. When you're walking to a person, you usually just smile, take a step or two and then do a deep lunge into their arms. But when you think nobody's watching, you study the distance from point A to point B, test your balance a few times, purse your lips and set off. I've seen about 10 steps in a row so far...good job!!!

I could go on and on and on about how awesome you are, but the point is that I love you so much and feel so lucky to be your mom. Even though you did grab my lace knitting last week and attempted to "help" me by pulling it all off the needles, and even though you still wake us up a couple of times a night, and even though you're a little maddening at the dinner table when you won't eat anything but Cheerios and whole fruit... Yes, yes, all of those things are endearing too. I wouldn't trade you for anything and can't imagine life without you.

My Sweet Baby Girl.

Happy Birthday!!!

love, Mom