1st Birthday!

That's right, Kenley is officially ONE!  How is it possible?  We had her birthday party last weekend at the house, and it turned out great!  Kenley had so much fun being the center of attention, eating her cake, and opening all her presents (well, of course she had help with the last one.)  It was fun celebrating with our families and Kenley was so happy all day.  I think there were about a million pictures taken, so pretty much every moment was captured.  Ray and I took the day off today to celebrate with Kenley and we took her to go see Santa!  We had no delusions that she would be too happy and we were right.  She was okay until it came time for her to actually sit on his lap.  But, we still got some pretty funny pictures.  There was the slightest dusting of snow on the ground this morning, and I couldn't help but think about how it snowed while we were in the hospital the day after she was born. 

I thought I would reflect on a few things about this past year:

I realized that I was meant to be a mom.  I don't mean this in the sense that I am the best mom, or that I always know what to do, but for the fact that I love every minute of being a mom.  I always hoped that I would have a baby girl, and I am so lucky that I got my wish.  I remember when we found out that she was a girl, and I truly felt like it was too good to be true.  Before Kenley was born, people would tell me that being a mom is hard, but totally worth it.  I am pretty lucky to say that Kenley is such a happy, easygoing baby that being a mom has not been hard, it's been awesome!  Sure, there are days that are hard, but that is mostly because I get sad about being away from her when I am at work.  It's hard that I can't be with my baby girl all the time, but as soon as I'm with her she puts a smile on my face. 

Kenley has brought our family even closer.  Ray and I have seen a new side of each other now that we are parents.  We bonded over our precious girl, and the two of us look at her in amazement like only parents can.  I love seeing them together and the way Kenley's face lights up when her daddy plays around with her.  Ray and I have both always been close with our families, but Kenley has only made us closer.  We are so lucky to have so  much love, support, and help from our families.  Kenley is SO loved.

Things I never want to forget about this year are:  The nights when I was exhausted, but I would get up in the middle of night with Kenley and it was just the two of us, (sometimes for hours and hours...)when Kenley first rolled over on Easter, and Ray and I were the first ones to see it, when we went to the zoo for the first time, running in the jogging stroller with her in the summer, taking her to the pool, getting her out of her crib in the morning when she is waiting with a big smile on her face, listening to her babble...man, this girl has a LOT to say!  When she learned to give kisses, when she learned to wave, when she doesn't want to go to anyone but her mommy (yes, this secretly makes me happy) when she will snuggle, which isn't often, when she smiles and laughs at the stupid things I do to get a reaction out of her.  This list could probably go on and on, but these are just a few of the things I want to remember.

Happy 1st Birthday Kenley!  We love you so much and you have truly made this the BEST year ever!