Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Dear Sofia, Happy Birthday



Dear Sofia,

Today is your very first birthday. Today, you are one year old. It feels like a life time since I met you for the first time, and it has been, it has been your entire life.

I feel like I can no longer call you my "baby girl" because you are not very much of a baby anymore. You feed yourself, you walk, and you babble all day long. You are just a little person, investigating the world right along side us. I wanted to be your mommy for years and years, but I honestly had absolutely no idea how much fun we were going to have together. Unfortunately, you are not going to remember all this fun so well, so I wanted to tell you a few things in writing so you can look back on this some day when you can understand what I'm saying and hear the little secrets I want to tell you from day to day.

You are a woman who knows what she wants. You are filled with passion, desire, and determination. Your favorite color is blue-circle. This is a block you always pick out first from a box of multi-colored/shaped blocks. You take your blue circle all around the house, carrying it in your hand or in your mouth where-ever you go. But you do seem to have a preference for blue in general too.You love shoes and credit cards and jewelry. You are already making me nervous with all your girliness!

You love your little music box that plays different orchestra instruments. You seem to have taken a particular liking to the french horn. You love to dance along to a Christmas-snoopy doll that plays the theme song from peanuts. You bob up and down and clap and we can't get over your awesome, though simple, little dance moves. Whenever you hear music of any sort, live or recorded, you start to smile and clap your hands. We love how much you love a good beat.

A couple of your favorite books are Mama, Baby, and other first words, Dr. Seus's ABC's (both of which Mama and Dada have memorized completely), I love you Stinky Face (which Mama and Dada are also fond of because you have been each of the characters at some point in this first year), Pat the Bunny (which you have totally mastered, and added your own actions, like snuggling and kissing Paul and Judy when you're feeling particularly kind). When we try to read your little bible stories to you, there is much screaming and shouting. Too many words, not enough pictures. We're hoping you'll grow into that one.

You LOVE drinking out of cups. Most of the liquid goes down your shirt, all over you tray, all over us, but you are a woman passionate about consuming liquids! You are a shockingly good eater, considering how horribly picky your parents were. You are usually willing to try anything Mama and Dada are eating. You go in waves, but on the good days, you down loads of yogurt, cereal, fruit, and oh how you do love to eat angel hair pasta with your hands! Oh the mess.

Lately, you've picked up this move where you tilt your little head and rest your temple on something - a stuffed animal, my chest, your food tray. It always makes Daddy and I say, "awww" and you love making us do that, so you make the gesture over and over. I have decided it means, "I love _fill in the blank object__" and I think it is the most adorable thing, even when the object is something like a TV remote.

When you get around new people, you are quiet and cautious at first, but soon, you warm up and make friends fast. You are trusting and quick to have a new person take you for a walk by the hand. With lots of new people you lead people to believe you don't have much to say, but in more intimate company, you have so much to contribute to the conversation.

Right now, you think you can talk. Really, you only have "Mama" and "Dada" down, maybe a few other real words pop up here and there. I swear I've heard you say "all done," "water," "turtle," "Hi, Dada," and once the sentence, "good Jesus, all done." My favorite is your new fixation on the word, "wow," we are hearing that one constantly lately! You have such wonder and curiosity about all things beautiful and fascinating and you help me to step back and appreciate so many things I would have otherwise taken for granted. You babble and babble and babble. Sometimes you cause yourself distress, and furrow your brows, and sometimes you crack yourself up and just laugh and laugh, and I can't help but laugh along, even though I don't get your joke. When you grow up, will you please tell us what you were saying all this time? I'm recording a few minutes of it so you can have it to reference.

I love how quick you are to laugh. I'm not sure if there's anything I love more about life right now than the opportunities to tickle you. I get my face all up in your neck and kiss and nuzzle your soft, warm, baby skin and you squeal with delight and I'm in Heaven. I get your closeness and your laugh all at once. You can't beg me to stop yet, so I just tickle you until I get worn out, and you just keep laughing and wriggling and we have so much fun.

You are no couch potato. While you adore TV remotes, you are really uninterested in TV. Sometimes Mama needs a little rest from all the fun, I'll turn on a kids program and hope to get a little breather while you watch, but you barely glance that way before your asking me to walk with you another lap to explore the house again. I keep trying to tell myself this is good and healthy.

There is one exception to the TV watching dislike. Sometimes, after nursing for a while in the afternoon, we put Pixar's "UP" on my phone, and we curl up and watch it together. You love it for the balloons and dogs, and I love it for the snuggle. That's the only time you are still in my arms and not in the process of going to sleep. These are some of the sweetest moments we've shared all year. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for rescuing this little animation company! RIP.

Sofia, we have recently started trying to provide an enhanced night-time routine for you. Instead of just putting you to bed, we now read Goodnight, Moon and then we say the Lords Prayer together as a family. You have mixed feelings about Goodnight, Moon, you alternate between yelling at it in anger and exclaiming with delight over the sight of the little mouse, the moon, and the red balloon. But when we begin to pray, you clasp your little hands and weave your little fingers together and Dada and Mama well up with happy joy.

After you go to bed, I come downstairs and have to empty my pockets from all the treasures I've had to steal away from you that you've picked up in odd places and tried to put in your mouth? My pockets are getting more and more full and curious lately.

Sofia, did you know that we spend all day together, and then I put you to bed, and then Daddy and I go to bed ourselves. But before we can fall asleep, because we miss you so much, we spend a few minutes looking at pictures on my phone and giggling and gushing over how adorable you are and how much we love you. You are our goodnight story.

We love you so much, not-so-baby-girl Sofia. I can't believe we've had the blessing of being with you for a whole year already. I already love the little person you are becoming. I'm so proud of how hard you work to learn and grow. I can't believe I ever went through life without you. Happy First Birthday my little Muffin.

Love,
Mommy

3 comments:

  1. This made me cry and just rescued me from a frustrating day. I love you, little Sofia!

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  2. Children are the most amazing miracle God performs, Sofia the best of them all!

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  3. This made me cry too! Thank you for sharing the stories of little Sofia with us. I know that she will read this one day and be so thankful and amazed that her Mommy had the foresight to write such a sweet letter on her first birthday! Xoxo

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