Dear Laura,
I can hardly believe you're a year old. It seems like only yesterday that I first held you in my arms, and you looked up at me with eyes that held an understanding beyond your age.
The moments shared between just me and you, kiddo, are some of my most treasured. When you slept peacefully in my arms. When you sit on my lap and take in the world around you. When you learn something new and look to me with pride. When you're playing happily and steal a glance in my direction to make sure I'm still there — then return contentedly to what you were doing. When I walk into the room and your face lights up when you see me. When we cuddle before bedtime. When you say, 'Mum'.
You've learnt and grown so much this past year. Every day you amaze me. Each new milestone you've reached has been proudly documented by your parents. You are fearless — I hope you don't lose that. And what a quick study you are! You want to do everything that we do. You're asserting your independence more and more each day.
I love your developing personality and quirky traits. You're stubborn, like me, and laid-back, like your dad. Yet you are very adaptable. You shriek when you laugh, and screw your face up when you smile. You're perfectly content to amuse yourself, and happy to play with others. You sing along with me and the radio when we're driving in the car, and you sing to yourself when the mood strikes you. You smile as soon as someone points a camera in your direction, because you've learnt what to do when that happens.
What an adventure this first year has been. You've been in airplanes, trains, ferries, subways and even iconic New York City cabs. You've seen snow and swam in the ocean. You've holidayed in Queensland, Victoria, New South Wales, the United States and Canada. You've hiked through forests, walked along beaches, watched fireworks, and observed sea lions and whales in their natural habitats. You've been christened and experienced your first Christmas. You already have a cousin. Your arrival has been celebrated by family and friends all over the world.
Best of all, you've turned your father's and my partnership into a family, and you've filled our home with laughter and happiness. When I watch you and your dad playing together, my heart feels like it will burst. We are both so in love with our little girl, and both so proud of how you're growing up, and the person you're becoming. We couldn't have imagined a more special first year.
Love,
Mum
