happy birthday alexandra grace

please forgive me for being such a sentimental pile of mush tonight, but i felt compelled to share this on my blog on this very special day.


dearest alexandra grace,

for most people, 8:49 pm came and went tonight with no fanfare - some might have been watching tv, some might have been reading, still others (including you) might have been asleep. but for your mommy and daddy, 8:49 was a very special moment to remember because it was at that time one year ago that you, precious child, were born.


how is it that it has already been one year?? in some ways it seems like just yesterday, yet it also seems like another lifetime ago since that morning after the derby when your daddy and i arrived at the hospital so i could be induced. the other day coming home from daycare, i turned in my seat and asked you how you have gotten so big, and you just laughed and gave me a toothy smile. people often laugh at your mommy for saying this, but i truly do not remember what life was like before you were born. anything that happened before we knew you was dull in comparison - the sky was not as blue, the grass was not as green, and life, well, it just wasn't as sweet. i never realized something was missing in my life until i met you - you filled a hole in my life, sweet child, that i didn't even know existed and you have made us a family.


i have never felt quite such a bond with anyone else in my life. i practically fly through the door at night just to see you smile - it's the best part of my day! when you see me round the corner and your face lights up with glee, you crawl toward me as fast as your little body can go and hold your arms up so i can scoop you up and pull you in close for a big hug and your own special version of a kiss - and everything inside of me melts. i hope that we always share such a close bond.


not a day goes by that i don't thank GOD that i have you as a daughter. i don't know what i did to deserve such a precious gift, but i thank HIM because i know that it was HE who deemed me worthy of being your mommy.


as i laid you down asleep tonight, i found myself standing there by your crib for several minutes, stroking your hair and thanking god that i have you as a daughter - just like i did at 8:49 pm on may 4, 2008, when i heard your first cry and the labor and delivery nurses brought you around the surgical drape so i could see your face for the first time. it was the most precious, beautiful sight i had ever laid my eyes upon.

darling girl, i wish you the very happiest of birthdays. it has been a wonderful, wacky, loving and exciting roller coaster this past year, and i cannot wait to see what the future holds. i love you so very much, all the time with all my heart.

xoxo

mommy