#37: Happy First Birthday to My Baby Girl

When you have a kid, the first year goes by fast.  Really freakin' fast.

One year.  12 months.  365 days.  8,760 hours.  525,600 minutes.  31,536,000 seconds.  No matter how big I try to make the unit of time, it still feels incredibly small because it went by in the blink of an eye.

A year ago today, Steph and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world.  A. was 11 days late, which was very un-Hadley like.  But once she burst onto the scene, there was no holding her back.  It seemed like every other week we were celebrating a major milestone.  Like rolling over.  Or eating solid foods.  Or crawling.  Or mastering the stacking rings toy.  Or saying "dada".  Now she's walking like a (semi) pro and even learning to feed herself with a spoon.  I'm constantly amazed by how much development is packed into the first year.

I'm so proud of each accomplishment and how far A. has come in such a short time.  I'm also excited for what the next year holds, and look forward to being able to interact, communicate, and play with her on a whole new level.  Yet, I can't help but be a little saddened that each day she becomes less like a baby and more like a kid.  I want her to grow up and do amazing things, but at the same time, I want her to always be my baby girl.  (As I wrote when A. turned four months, I want to have my cake and eat it too.)

Today, there will be plenty of cake--and plenty of celebration!  Happy First Birthday to my baby girl!  I love you so much.

-Daddy