My oh my, a year's gone by

My baby is turning 1... how did that happen?!  It's so cliche' to say, "It went so fast!"  But it did.

For many years Mother's Day has been tough for me.  I've been longing to be a Mommy, but there's been no baby to make me one.  Last year while I was super preggo but still a couple weeks away from D-Day, a sweet little girl at church came up and gave me a flower on Mother's Day.  Needless to say the tears came flowing! It melted me that this little girl saw me as a Mommy.  Little did I know less than 3 days later, I would finally become one.

I'll save you all the crazy details, but going to bed with what I thought were just cramps on a Tuesday night apparently turned into labor.  Eriek and I, being newbies at this, didn't realize I was in labor so after lots of debate and finally calling the doctor, we arrived at the hospital around 7:30am on Wednesday morning.  By the time our room was ready, so was Arella, and out she came at 9:11am on 5-11-11.  Kinda cool :)

She's been a little character from the beginning, and here's a quick glance at my little Arella over the past year.

Our sweet little baby girl so eager to see us, arrived at just under 6 lbs. 10 oz., 20 inches long and a full head of dark hair.

First official family photo.

Just 6 days old and you can already see the hint of a smirk on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

1 month

 2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

I love you my precious baby girl!  Thank you for making me a mommy and filling my heart so full I think it might burst!  

Lord, thank You for this amazing gift You have brought to our family!  Thank You for teaching us how to love deeper and more fully.  Thank You for helping us understand and know You more through being a parent.  Please continue to knit our little family together in a way that only You can!

And just to leave you with a few of my favorite fun moments.

Can't wait to see what another year holds....