Yesterday Clara, my baby girl, turned one. The reality of this has hit me hard - and unexpectedly. People's birthday wishes for her kept bringing tears to my eyes! What is that?! I did not have this kind of reaction with Cooper. I think the reason for this is twofold. One, with Cooper I was able to take my time with his babyhood. I didn't have to work; I didn't have any other demands on my time. It was just him and me. And I loved it. It was peaceful, and gradual, and special. Baby number two has been a completely different experience. She was born, and we hit the ground running! Keeping up with Cooper is a busy job, and Clara has been schlepped around from the very beginning. Adding to that, I went back to work when she was about 4 months old. Now, suddenly, a year has passed and I simply can't believe it. To say the past 12 months are a blur is an understatement. Luckily we do have quite a bit of photographic documentation, and I don't know what I'd do without my (ever-present) iPhone to quickly snap pictures and video of the little things. The second reason, I think, that I'm emotional about Clara growing up is because we're *pretty* sure that we are content with having only two children. So that means that all the baby stuff is behind me! I can't believe it. Although I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a part of me that is relieved. I definitely go back and forth!
So I wanted another way to preserve our memories. A place to document milestones and present Cooper's daily hilarious quotes. I hope this can be a place where we can look back and remember the little moments that sometimes get lost in the blur. Hopefully I can be more committed to this than I have been with my kids' baby books. Yikes. It's worth a try! And maybe, in the process, there will be a few other people who enjoy it, too.
