Baby Steps

Anna is taking her first real steps. And yesterday...she crawled up the stairs - four big steps.

With a little help, she's pulling herself up, standing and cruising. The girl is on the move.

And today, my heart feels like it is about to explode...so many emotions are pouring out. Changes are here, and more are coming. She is exactly 11 months and 2 weeks old today. Her very First Birthday is around the corner. She is growing and developing and make amazing accomplishments...all in her little baby ways. I can't believe it's been a year since she arrived and rocked our world. Changing it forever. I remember it like yesterday. Our little bundle, swaddled and so tiny. I just want to squeeze her, hug her, kiss her and tell her how much I love her. How incredibly crazy I am about her. That I will always be here for her, for as long as I live. I hope she knows it, I hope she feels safe and protected, comforted and loved...everyday.

And then I read this...and it's exactly how I feel.

"You feed. You change. You snuggle. You pour your soul into them, hoping every internal thought and feeling of goodness and love seeps into every bone in their body, every cell in their frame so that they feel it...so that they know it...so that someday, when they are three and they are big and they are beginning the journey down the new road, they will be equipped with everything they could possibly need to thrive.

...and you just have to trust that you are doing your best and that for every mistake you make, there are a thousand more victories. And you grow in the fact that, in setting an example, in laying the foundation for your littles, you become better. You have to live what you want to teach them because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I want my apples to be good and kind, giving and understanding. I want my apples to be strong and independent and yet sensitive and tender-hearted. Yes, I will be a strong tree--so strong indeed that my apples can roll further and further away from me, exploring their world, and they will know my presence, quietly and assuredly."

That Kelle Hampton, she nails it every time. And with tears streaming down my face, I dash upstairs to check on my own little and whisper I love you.

I love you, I love you...

I love your pudgy little hands...and pudgy little feet.

Your tiny little toes and baby button nose...