For a while, it was just my husband and I. I didn't even realize how lax-a-daisy our life was until we became parents. I mean, it wasn't odd to us that we had time to sleep in on the weekends and go to movies whenever we wanted. It was just the way our life was.
And then our daughter was born on February 28 at 6:45pm on a chilly, slightly snowy day.
She changed the world.
Okay, she changed our world.
In a pretty incredible way.
I will never forget the look on my huband's face when our daughter finally made her apperance.
It said what he was thinking better than words ever could.
"I'm a dad," his facial expression said in total amazement. There really was a baby in there!
As if my progressively growing stomach wasn't quite enough of news flash (really, it wasn't).
Because being pregnant doesn't make you a parent.
Finally holding the little one in your arms? that kind of does, almost.
What made us parents were the adventures that we went through together, learning what it meant to care for a baby.. learning what it meant to be a family of three.
Because it was up to us to figure out this parening thing.
The little hand wrapped around your finger, the first jumbled baby words, those first steps... the amazement of realizing that there is this person that counts on you everyday, to be there to nurture and take care of her.
My husband and I have always been on the same page on how to parent our daughter. We know that we want her to become her own person.
We don't have any expectations on who she becomes.
Alright, that's kind of a lie.
Because, we do have some expectations, though we'd really rather call them hopes and wishes.
We hope that she'll be incredibly happy and jump at life like it's a miracle in the making. We hope that she'll know how amazing she is and believe in herself to the fullest.
As Kahlil Gibran put it: "Your children are not your children.They are sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself."
Happy 4th birthday to a really amazing kid. Thanks for making us laugh, showing us how amazing the love is between parent and child and thanks for being who you are. We love that you are into princesses, fairies, sparkles and all things pink. It's pretty awesome and we're glad to tag along for the ride.
pst: I made the cupcake toppers with cardstock, bamboo picks and the stickers that I purchased from this amazing shop: CardzandMore on Etsy. Thanks again, Sharon, for creating the perfect princess set!
