Sweet Everly Turns One Today!
Dearest Everly,
This time last year, we woke up, and we were ordinary people. But by the time we went to bed that night, something amazing had happened to us. Everly, YOU happened to us! We became grandparents! Every good and wonderful thing that people had told us about being grandparents turned out to be untrue. It was INFINITELY BETTER than anyone could have led us to believe!
Your fan club -- I mean "family" -- spent that day in the waiting room of the hospital, making friendly wagers about what time you would be born and how much you would weigh. Your daddy appeared periodically to give us an update on all the hard work Mommy was doing behind the scenes. After a long day of waiting, the happy announcement of your safe arrival came, and there was no small amount of hugging and laughing and rejoicing!
It was heartwarming to watch your beautiful but exhausted mommy cradle her newborn treasure after months of waiting and to see our son -- your daddy -- protect you and make sure that each of us held you with plenty of support and strength. I'm not sure any more love could have been squeezed into that room that evening! We were all enthralled by this precious gift -- fresh from the hands of God!
And the love affair continued. We all "made appointments" and took turns coming to your house just to hold you close and stare into your adorable face. None of us could get enough of you! I'll always treasure one evening right before Christmas when I walked you around the house and sang Christmas carols with the radio. You fell asleep, but I kept walking and singing and thanking God that babies have very forgiving ears!
Who couldn't love a year of "firsts?" You smiled, you rolled over, you sat, you splashed in the pool, you grew teeth, you stood up -- so many milestones! Yes, babies do all of these things, but you were OUR baby and we were proud! And doesn't everyone need a fan club?! Papa and I couldn't wait to check our phones each day in the hope that there would be a new picture of sweet Everly just being sweet Everly! And Mommy and Daddy indulged us and kept us smiling with each new photo!
And our little traveler already has an impressive list of travel destinations under her belt -- Port Aransas, Italy, Florida, Pops and JuJu's lakehouse, and lots of other fun places! I sense that you're on your way to becoming an adventurer!
And I also sense that you're on your way to becoming a kind, sensitive, caring little lady. Already, you study faces and hearts. You look deeply into eyes -- the windows of the soul -- and know that a snuggle from a little one is the best cure for just about every hard thing in the world. You have no idea that when we hold you, you make US feel held!
Every month, Mommy sits you next to a stuffed giraffe and takes your picture. And every month, that darn giraffe "shrinks" just a little. What a blessing and a privilege to watch the miracle of you BECOMING! Happy first birthday, sweet Everly!
Loving you always with all of my heart,
Milly
This time last year, we woke up, and we were ordinary people. But by the time we went to bed that night, something amazing had happened to us. Everly, YOU happened to us! We became grandparents! Every good and wonderful thing that people had told us about being grandparents turned out to be untrue. It was INFINITELY BETTER than anyone could have led us to believe!
Your fan club -- I mean "family" -- spent that day in the waiting room of the hospital, making friendly wagers about what time you would be born and how much you would weigh. Your daddy appeared periodically to give us an update on all the hard work Mommy was doing behind the scenes. After a long day of waiting, the happy announcement of your safe arrival came, and there was no small amount of hugging and laughing and rejoicing!
It was heartwarming to watch your beautiful but exhausted mommy cradle her newborn treasure after months of waiting and to see our son -- your daddy -- protect you and make sure that each of us held you with plenty of support and strength. I'm not sure any more love could have been squeezed into that room that evening! We were all enthralled by this precious gift -- fresh from the hands of God!
And the love affair continued. We all "made appointments" and took turns coming to your house just to hold you close and stare into your adorable face. None of us could get enough of you! I'll always treasure one evening right before Christmas when I walked you around the house and sang Christmas carols with the radio. You fell asleep, but I kept walking and singing and thanking God that babies have very forgiving ears!
Who couldn't love a year of "firsts?" You smiled, you rolled over, you sat, you splashed in the pool, you grew teeth, you stood up -- so many milestones! Yes, babies do all of these things, but you were OUR baby and we were proud! And doesn't everyone need a fan club?! Papa and I couldn't wait to check our phones each day in the hope that there would be a new picture of sweet Everly just being sweet Everly! And Mommy and Daddy indulged us and kept us smiling with each new photo!
And our little traveler already has an impressive list of travel destinations under her belt -- Port Aransas, Italy, Florida, Pops and JuJu's lakehouse, and lots of other fun places! I sense that you're on your way to becoming an adventurer!
And I also sense that you're on your way to becoming a kind, sensitive, caring little lady. Already, you study faces and hearts. You look deeply into eyes -- the windows of the soul -- and know that a snuggle from a little one is the best cure for just about every hard thing in the world. You have no idea that when we hold you, you make US feel held!
Every month, Mommy sits you next to a stuffed giraffe and takes your picture. And every month, that darn giraffe "shrinks" just a little. What a blessing and a privilege to watch the miracle of you BECOMING! Happy first birthday, sweet Everly!
Loving you always with all of my heart,
Milly