Happy 11 Months, Sweet Baby Girl!

My dearest Liddy,

Today you are officially 11 months old! 

We have held you in our arms for almost a year now. It is mind boggling. In so many ways, it seems like yesterday that we were (impatiently) waiting for you to arrive in this world, to take your first breath, to show all the doubters exactly what you were capable of. My greatest wish for you then was that you would be strong, that you would prove how tough I already knew you were, that you would be as healthy as possible.

I expected all of those things. But what I didn't expect was that not only would you be tough as nails, you would be as soft and cuddly as a fluffy teddy bear. I didn't expect a smile that would light up the most beautiful face I have ever laid eyes on. I didn't expect your constant laughter. I didn't expect sassiness tempered with pure sugary sweetness. I didn't expect that you would capture the hearts of so many strangers, all with a simple flash of your dimply smile.

I knew you would be beautiful.....but it seems that I underestimated that as well. You are gorgeous...both inside and out.

I knew I would love you. But I never expected to love you so deeply..so fiercely. 

I knew your arrival would change life for all of us. I just never expected it to change us all so much for the better.

The last 11 months have been quite the roller coaster....with plenty of soaring highs and crashing lows. But not only have you shown us what an amazing little girl you are, you have shown all of us what amazing people WE can be as well.  And I find that despite my sometimes wishing that we had never had the need to go through some of the things that we have in the last year, when push comes to shove, I wouldn't have missed (or changed) a second of any of it. 

Your three week NICU stay brought us amazing new friends. Nurses whose job it was to care for your physical needs, but who also cared for all of our emotional needs. Women who love you like you are their own, and who still email, call, and keep up....because they just love you so much.

Your 16 day stay at Riley following your heart surgery gave me faith stronger than I have ever had. It gave me belief in my own strength, which although pushed to its fragile limits more than once, blossomed under pressure. It also made me even more appreciative of what a miracle you truly are and how very blessed we are to have you here, now growing and changing before my very eyes.

Even if it makes me a little sad sometimes, it has been my distinct pleasure to watch those changes happen. To watch your metamorphosis from a tiny newborn into a little girl. It's every bit as awesome a sight as it is to watch a butterfly break free from it's cocoon, spreading it's newly formed graceful wings in flight. 

You are a butterfly, baby girl. My sweet, precious LiddyBug. And I am breathless with the anticipation of what the next 11 months will bring.........

All of my love,

Mama