Our Little Life: One

1 year.
Remember when you were a kid and one year seemed like such a long time? I can remember laying in bed on Christmas night being so sad that I had to wait an entire year before the excitement of Christmas Day again. How is it that with each passing year they seem to go by quicker and quicker?
One year ago today, on July 9, 2010, our precious little (well, not too little weighing in at 8 lbs.6 oz.) Elsie Miles joined our family to make it a family of 5. From the moment she decided to finally kick things up and enter this wonderful world (only seven days late... our poor children inherited my wait to the last minute to do things before they were even born!) she has been easy. She only put me through a couple of hours of labor, five minutes or less of pushing, nursed like a champ from the moment she arrived, and when she slept through the night at less than a week old, I woke up in a panic that something was wrong with our newborn girl.

I think of how fast this past year has gone by and how much she has grown and learned in a year, and it is definitely a bittersweet moment. A child's first year is a year filled with "firsts". First cry. First hug. First bath. First smile. First laugh. First time rolling over. First foods. First time sitting up. First words. First crawl, and for some, their first steps. Every accomplishment is a moment to celebrate and cherish. It has been so fun watching how excited not only Elsie gets when she accomplishes a difficult new tasks, but in this house with Jackson and Ansley cheering her on, it is usually an all out celebration which involves lots of clapping and usually some dancing. Today, there was lots of celebrating. Celebrating our youngest blessing that God has given us, and for the one year that she has brought so much joy in our lives! When eric and I were trying to decide what to do to help Elsie have a wonderful day, we thought... what exactly should you do to help celebrate her first birthday. With Elsie, it's simple. Just let her eat because there is nothing in this world that she loves more than eating! :) (Although you would never know since she finally hit 16 pounds this week!)