A Letter To My Daughter On Her 1st Birthday

Little Miss Brooke (better known as Lamby),

I’ll never forget the day you were born, your dad and I had no clue what we were doing or getting ourselves into. You were six weeks early, we were nervous and had no clue what to expect. You spent your first, very long week in the NICU. It’s crazy how instantaneous the worry is – I wanted you home. I cried when I saw other moms getting to leave the hospital with their baby. I wanted to hold you in my arms for hours and not be told I needed to lay you back down by nurses.

The day we got to take you home was amazing, I remember saying to myself, “This is it, we are on our own, no more nurses” as we drove away from the hospital. It felt so natural to bring you home. You immediately fit right into our lives and family as if you were always there. As if we were missing you all along and never knew it. Day by day, my love for you continually grew.

I spent countless hours nursing you, playing with you, taking care of you and just holding you. I also spent many hours on google diagnosing your symptoms or reading articles. I worried about you a lot and cuddled with you a lot. I hated the day I had to go back to work and take you to daycare or “school”. I wanted to spend every waking second with you. You are incredibly fun.

You became my little bff. I watched you learn so much over this past year and grow into an incredibly beautiful, fun-loving one year old. You constantly make me laugh and fill my heart with joy. You keep me on my toes and inspire me. You make me better.

I will never forget the first time you said “mama” and how excited I was – or the time you crawled for the first time to get my phone. I leaped up and down in excitement. I will also never forget the helplessness I felt as you went into your first surgery, or the time you had 104.5 fever and we rushed you to the doctor. Even through the rough times of this first year, your smile and adorable face has kept me strong.

One of my favorite sights will forever be you and daddy playing together, and your face when he gets home from work. It’s like you already know your partner in crime walked through the door. You and daddy are constantly playing and it fills my heart. You two are my whole world.

We made it through the first year, Little Lamby. Thank you for all the incredible joy you have brought to my life. You will forever be one of my greatest adventures.

I love you sweet, beautiful girl,

Mommy