Happy First Birthday Olivia

My Dearest Olivia,

I can't believe you are a year old already, your birthday seemed to come out of nowhere. This past year has been full of changes for our family and your birth was by far the best and most life changing for us. Even though you have only been in our lives for a year, we couldn't imagine our lives without you.

You are a joy to be around. You have an amazing sense of humor and you love to make us laugh. Your smile and laughter lights up the room and is very contagious. You like to be the center of attention and you can certainly put on the charm for anyone who will pay you a little attention! You are a monkey and daredevil. You climb up anything and seem to have NO fear! I don't know if this is because you are trying to keep up with your big sister or if its just your personality. You seem to be growing up quicker than I would like. While I am very excited to see you try new things and master new skills, I can't help but to think you are growing up too quickly. I think having a big sister aids in your doing things earlier than I am used to. You just seem to want to be able to do the things Abby does and you are one determined little girl. I knew I was in trouble when you rolled over at just 7 weeks old!

I think my favorite thing is to watch you with your sister. This special relationship is new to all of us and I love watching it grow. Abby has loved you from the minute she found out you were going to be a part of our family and that was something I never doubted. Your love for her has surprised me though. Not because I didn't think you would love her, but because of how early it seemed to start and how fast it has grown. Since you were just a little baby you just lit when you would see her and now you seem to be constantly looking for her. You love to play with her and she is apparently the funniest person you have ever laid eyes on! I love the way you search for her hand in the car so you can hold hands while we drive along, it just absolutely melts my heart. I do see glimpses of the future sibling rivalry though and you guys know how to push each other's buttons, but I think you are going to be the best of friends and being a military family I think that is very important.

Olivia, I know you aren't going to stop growing up just because I think you are doing it too quickly. I understand that you have things to learn, places to explore, and new things to try. I know you are just trying to keep up with your big sister and you are very proud of yourself (as you should be) when you are able to do something "big girls" do. Since you don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, I guess it will be my job to do that. I will be the one to slow down and enjoy the little moments as much as possible. I will be the one to take the mental snapshots of you growing up and doing your cute little Olivia things. I will be the one to live in the moment and enjoy it because unfortunately, I am the one who knows how quickly things change. I am the one who knows that little girls grow up too quickly and things become "remember when" all too fast. And, of course while living in the moment and fondly remembering the past year we will all be looking forward to the future and all the adventures, fun, laughter and memories to come.

Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet Olivia. You are a wonderful little girl and we just can't imagine our lives without you!!!!

Love,
Mommy