"Happy Birthday, Princess!"

Happy 1st Birthday, Carly!

It's amazing to me that I have a one-year-old.  My mom said to me last week when she was here, "remember telling me you could imagine yourself with a baby but you couldn't imagine yourself with a toddler or child? Well now you can."  Carly is officially a toddler, but in all actuality she is still very much a baby. She isn't walking (although I know she can...more on that later), she doesn't have any teeth, she's still nursing and she is so dainty that we can still snuggle her on our chests. 

When I turned on my iPod this morning, there was a message from Baby Center wishing Carly a happy birthday.  The message read:

"Congratulations! You've made it through the amazing, exhausting first year of your child's life. Think how far you've come since meeting your precious baby: Remember changing ten diapers a day, waking every few hours for a feeding, and worrying over every new milestone? Remember when a quick trip to the store with your little one was a strange and scary endeavor?  Those days are long gone – now you're a pro. While you celebrate your baby's first year and how much he or she has grown, take a moment to reflect on how much you've accomplished, too.  And the fun has just begun! You have a toddler now – which means walking, talking and greater independence.  Read about what's headed your way in the toddler years--potty training, tantrums and more."

Then it went on to say, "You've also finished the My Baby Today app..."  What? I don't get daily updates on Carly anymore?  I was so sad to hear that!  I guess I'm a pro and I don't need them anymore!  That's not true!  Anyway, it was fun to wake up to that little message as I held Carly tight and wished her a happy birthday.  

So, what have we done to commemorate such an important year?  Well, Miss-C woke up before the sun this morning (and 2 hours before her usual wake up time) due to a mess in her diaper.  Her parents, however, did not know that was why!  Brian's alarm was due to go off in about 10 minutes, so he got up and tried to rock her back to sleep.  She was squirmy like she was in pain, so he brought her in to me.  I nursed her and then carried her back to her crib so that she'd go back to sleep.  She started crying before I was even back to my room (which she almost never does).  So I went back in there and asked if she was just so excited to be one that she couldn't sleep anymore?  I rocked her as she wiggled and squirmed and cried.  She was throwing her head around in exhaustion but something was wrong.  I picked her up and put my nose to her booty...nothing.  So I decided maybe her jammies were bothering her, so I took those off and could see poop in her diaper.  Why didn't it stink?! I'm telling ya, this kid has some rancid stools, so I was shocked that I couldn't smell a thing through her jammies.  At any rate, I quickly began changing her and her little bum was SO red...I bet she had been sitting in that poop for hours!  Poor kiddo!  When is she going to learn that we don't go number 2 at night?!  She let out a squeal of pain as the wipe hit her tush, and I knew at that moment the only way to get this sticky poo off without hurting my poor baby was to stick her in the bath.  Needless to say, we didn't get to go back to sleep after that...but she did snuggle with me in the nude for about 10 minutes.  I really wanted to let that rash get some fresh air, but after one poop and one pee, the diaper was put back on!  I swear I only looked away for a second, and looked back at her and she had a turd in her hand!  Oh the joys.........

This morning was our regular routine: play time followed by breakfast, followed by some more play time.  I dumped her entire toy box out in the middle of the living room, which she found great delight in. I also made sure to cook all her favorite foods today and was generous with the amount of iced animal cookies that she got to eat.  We went for a run and played outside for a long time.  It was in the thirty's when we woke up this morning, so I bundled us up real good to go outside.  Turns out the Florida sun is still very warm, so we were shedding some layers on what turned out to be a lovely 55 degree day.  I think the temperature on her birthday will drastically change from year to year.  Could be anywhere from 30 degrees up to 90 degrees...like it's suppose to be later this week!!

We took a trip to the grocery to get rice, chicken and sweet potatoes so that she could have her favorite foods for dinner!  She took a long afternoon nap to make up for her lack of sleep last night and we anxiously awaited daddy's arrival.  We then sat down to dinner and a birthday cookie.  She loved the singing, candle and the sweet treat.

We finished the day with a nice long bath.  I am fairly certain she delights in water even more so than being outside.  She had a bath last night, but it was her birthday, and we wanted her to have as much fun as possible.  I think we were successful at that. :)

After 3:52pm, I kept thinking about how exactly one year ago I was holding my precious infant and how I held her for nearly 48 hours straight and how precious that time was.  No pain, no stress, just lovin' and snugglin'. Today I looked at pictures of our family in the hospital, read my birth story and praised God for a year of health, safety and happiness.  I look forward to the days and years to come, entering a new stage of toddlerhood.  She's been up to quite a lot this past month, but I will wait to post her typical monthly updates until after we go to the doctor and get her stats on Friday.  

She's a joy and a blessing...nothing shy of a miracle, certainly Heaven sent.  

Here's the song we sing at Disney:
"Happy Birthday, Princess! Today's your special day!  We're having a party to say, Happy Birthday, Princess!"