Well, the magical day is approaching…. our little girl is going to be 1 year old in a matter of days. So many big decisions are looming. The biggest of all being…What cake do we have for the party??????  Seriously though, it is incredible to have arrived at this point so quickly.

The first year of a childs life is so filled with action and exhaustion and  trials and triumphs. The days often blur into eah other and the sleepless nights through teething and tummy aches feel like they are sucking the life out of you.Then one day they sit all by themselves, and another they come to you on their hands and knees, so cute. Another day still, you walk into the room and find them miraculously standing up against the couch and then a step is taken, and life will never be the same again!

They learn so fast and every new achievement is an event to be marked in a book and photographically chronicled. We have filled a hard drive with pictures of as many moments as we possibly could. Playing with every toy, wearing every outfit.

There is a feeling of success reaching this point, as though you maybe have done a good job, raised them without serious incident through a year fraught with danger.  Our world has been filled with love and fun this year, we have been overwhelmed many times at the good fortune that has been bestowed on us. Our baby is less and less of a baby every day, I suspect though that she will always be or baby in a small way, no matter how big she gets.

The smiles and the giggles will always outweigh the tough times, even in the wee hours of the morning when you think they will never simle again.  Because one smile is all it takes to wipe out a night of torture.

Enjoy your little monkey no matter what stage you are up to.