Avery After 365 Days

Avery turned one today and like every parent I could give the cliché remarks about how the year went by so fast or about how my baby girl is all grown up. But in all reality the past 365 days felt like 465 and Avery doesn’t seem like she is ready to graduate to toddler-hood just yet.

My comments are definitely not meant to be mean (or unloving) and they have nothing to do with Avery’s personality or development. Instead they have everything to do with the fact we now have a point of reference in our lives. When her big brother turned one, we were ready to hand him the car keys and start filling out college applications right after he smashed his cake. But in looking back, we thought he was so old because we didn’t know any better – walking upright on two feet seemed like it would be the most significant achievement in his life (and ours as parents)! Avery has mastered walking and is doing everything (if not more than) Alex did at 12 months, but we now know that there is so much more to come, and more importantly, there is no need to rush through these first years and mini-milestones as you will never get them back.

So she can face forward in the car seat, wear 2T pants, babble “I love you” to her baby doll, play trains with her brother, eat whole slices of pizza and chase daddy around the front yard, but I am holding on to the morning bottle and not thinking twice about rocking her to sleep (if needed). I’ll continue to call her my baby girl even on day 366 and hope the next year goes by just as slow.

Click here to see more pictures from Avery’s first birthday.