The End of a Beautiful Beginning

My sweet baby girl turns one year old tomorrow.  It's unfathomable, exciting, and heartbreaking all at once.  How are we here already?  When did that tiny little heartbeat I could feel under my hand become this beautiful, hilarious, smart little cookie who comes running at me full force when she wants some momma love?  What will this next year hold?

Too many joys to count, I'm sure.  So many new experiences, new words, new accomplishments, new things to rejoice over.  The upcoming year is so exciting.

And yet closing this one today makes me so sad.

My precious girl.

It has been such a beautiful year--almost two years, really, from the beginning--that she has been in our life.

I'll share birthday party pictures later, but today, I just wanted to share with you two videos that I made for Kayleigh's birthday party.  The first one shares our pregnancy journey, beginning with how I told Jesse that I was pregnant, and ending with the week that Kayleigh was born.  The next one is pictures of her from throughout her first year.  It's amazing to watch her grow before my eyes!

(better quality youtube version here)

Today is the end of a beautiful chapter in our life, but it's only the beginning, really.  Even though I wish I could keep this preciously soft and dimpled curly girl this size forever, I'm so thankful for the opportunity I've been given to be her mom.  I know from my relationship with my mom that the mother-daughter bond grows more and more beautiful every year, and I am so looking forward to that!