Surrounded by Girls: Happy Birthday, Melanie

Happy birthday, Melanie. Today you are one year old. It's hard to believe that it has been a year. It's been an incredible year and we've seen you go through so many changes in such a relatively short period of time. I remember coming home from the hospital one year ago today with a Whopper and a digital camera full of photos. I was finally able to create this blog for you and for everyone who loves you.

Over the course of this year we have:

Spent 18 hours over the course of two rainy October days in labor.
Visited you in the hospital when you couldn't come home with us.
Learned how to feed you, bathe you, change you, hold you...
Brought you home on Monday, November 8, 2004. You rode in your car seat and spent the night in your basinet.
Gave you Prilosec and dealt with your (sometimes tempermental) monitor.
Watched you give us a little half smile and turn away... so coy!
Took a lot of photos.
You surprised us one morning when we looked over at you and you had rolled over onto your stomach.
You moved from milk to rice cereal to "people" food.
Learned to crawl.
You pull yourself to your feet and will use anything that moves as a walker and push it around the house.
Things that calm you down -- the "A, B, C's", a camera in your face, and of course any of a number of pacifiers.
You wave and say "HI!" to strangers, your reflection in the mirror (which you have loved since very early), or just the outdoors.
"Touchdown!" "How big is Melanie?" "High five!" "Give me a kiss."

These and a million other small moments have made this year something wonderful. I love you, Melanie. I love being your father. I love your mother and how you smile and laugh only for her. I love how you respond to an "audience" and how they respond to you.

Happy birthday, and many, many more.