It's the Last Time...

I just put my 1-year old daughter to bed for the last time. Tomorrow, she will wake up as a 2-year old.

I've been reflecting a lot this week on the past year. I would guess this is what most parents do but I had a really hard time celebrating Emily's first birthday last year. I really struggled with the way I thought I "should" be feeling vs. what I was actually feeling. We brought Emily home from Kazakhstan on February 7, 2007. We celebrated our homecoming with our family and friends at a handful of baby showers and then Emily turned one just 2 1/2 months after we got home. It felt odd to have a birthday party so soon after all the other parties and after only having Emily for a short time so we didn't really do much for her 1st birthday.

HOWEVER... now it's time for a birthday party! We will be getting together with our families this weekend to celebrate Emily's 2nd birthday. I have so many memories running through my head this evening of the past year. And... I get to celebrate the fact that we've managed to keep Emily alive for a whole year without any major traumas. Yeah, yeah, there was bronchiolitis, a couple of colds, the fall down the steps, the stumble into the plant stand, and the recent rug burn from the basement steps, but overall I think we did okay. I tend to agree with my sister-in-law who emailed me this morning and suggested that maybe, just maybe people should be buying me gifts for accomplishing that major feat! We survived!

So, what is Emily like now that she's going to be 2?

Emily LOVES:

• her big brother, Ryan
• books
• bears
• hugs
• milk
• cheerios
• swinging
• bath-time
• pictures of snakes and anything that resembles a snake
• Daddy's belt (a snake!)
• hats
  
• looking at pictures of family and friends
• playing dress-up
• spending time with her grandparents
• our cat, Spencer
• going over the Weee! Bridge and railroad tracks
• helping Mommy with chores at church and around the house
• going for walks and playing outside
• ringing doorbells
• feeding and caring for her dolls and teddy bears
  

Emily DISLIKES:

• having to say goodnight at the end of the day
• falling down steps :-)
• when she's away from her brother for too long
• our cat Spencer's short hair after he was shaved
• being told "no" when she's wants to do something
  
• tomatoes
• melon
• lettuce
• some fruit juices
• pizza (for now... we have high hopes on changing this one!)
• laying down for naps (but settles down very quickly)
• ....the dislikes are really hard to come up with!

We have been so blessed by this little girl. I don't think I've ever laughed and smiled this much on a daily basis.

Along with these blessings I'm also thinking of Emily's birth mom in Kazakhstan again. I don't know the circumstances of her pregnancy. I don't know if her family or Emily's birth father knew of her pregnancy or if they might be thinking of her tomorrow. If I could tell them something I would thank them for the blessing they have given our family. We never take for granted the opportunities we have been given to love this little girl to the best of our abilities.

I am thankful for all the sticky kisses that I press into my cheek as I drive to work and for all the runny noses that need wiped and dirty diapers that need changed.

I am thankful for the twinkle in Emily's eyes as she responds with "Baa!" when you ask her what a kitty says.

I am thankful for the "Wheee!" that I hear when we turn onto the familiar roads that contain a railroad track or the Whee Bridge.

I'm reflectively thankful when I look in my rear view mirror and see an empty car seat looking back at me.

I'm thankful for the toys that didn't quite make it into the toybox before bedtime so my bare feet can stumble on them in the morning as I get ready for work.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to watch the same Elmo and Baby Einstein episodes over and over and over and over and over and over....

I'm thankful for all the sippy cups that have gone missing behind furniture and in the car and are found with rancid, lumpy, dried up milk in them.

I'm thankful for the big hugs and pats on the back that I get from my little girl on a regular basis.

Why didn't anyone ever tell me how incredibly awesome it would be to be Emily's mommy?

Happy Birthday, Snickerdoodle! You're going to wake up as a 2-year old tomorrow and what a year of adventures we will have ahead of us!