Letters to Charlie Bear: One.
What can we say? One year.
One year has came and went. But boy what a ride it has been! Today we celebrate our Charlie Bear…
….and there may be tears involved.
When we found out we were pregnant with Charlie, we would have conversations about all the traditions we wanted to start with her. Some borrowed from our childhood memories and others that were all our own. This is one of those traditions. Birthday letters from mom and dad.
From Mom:
Me dearest Charlie Bear,
You are so bright. And I’m kind of obsessed with you.
You and I, we’ve been wingin’ this thing for a year now. Just when I think we’ve gotten into a groove, you make sure I know that we indeed, still need to get our lives together, lol. Thank you for that. I have a tendency of focusing on the intricacies of it all. The tetris game of fitting it all in. From nap times to lunch times, play times to learning times, I get so wrapped up in trying to maximize every minute of the day, that I need you to check me. To bring me back and remind me that none of that matters.
I seriously can’t believe you are one. People always say that time goes by so fast, but it’s true. I hate it and it hurts my feelings. I need you to slow down and stay a while. You are really coming into your own. That’s definitely pretty awesome to witness. I prayed every day for nine months that you would have your dad’s gentle, calm and graceful demeanor. The Lord obviously has got jokes. You are every bit of me, but 100% you. It’s terrifyingly beautiful.
You are relentless and independent. You are curious and kind. You are funny and charming. I could literally squeeze your face off. My girl, I cannot wait to teach you ALL. THE. THINGS. This next year is going to be great and we are obviously going to be best frannnnds. I love you so much it hurts. I know you will never remember this day, but trust me, I will never forget it. If you need me, I will be in denial – crying. Kyle, bring me some tissue!
From Dad:
Charlie bear,
The day you were born was one of the happiest days of my life, and I’m old, I’ve had a lot of happy days. I was so excited when we got to the hospital, I almost dropped your mom out of the wheelchair rushing to get her in the elevator. It was an accident, I promise, I don’t care what she tells you haha. Apparently, you were in a big hurry too, because it didn’t take you long at all to arrive. Then just like that, you were here, and our lives changed forever. You cried, your mom cried, I cried…the entire day was just a rollercoaster of emotions. We brought you home from the hospital and just stared at you constantly, in awe of this amazing child we’d been blessed with.
Now here we are, one year later, pleading for time to just slow down already. More time to take in every hug, giggle and smile. More time to breathe a little deeper when you’re tearing the curtains from the walls. More time for you to stay our little girl. That’s why today is so bittersweet. This past year has been so amazing, getting to witness the beginnings of the incredible person you will be. But there’s no way to press pause on the clock and we have to keep moving forward with time.
We’ve watched you grow and we’ve taken in so many new experiences with you. You started out as this little baby that slept all of the time, and it seems overnight, you’ve become such an independent little girl, ready to take on the world, or at least most of the house. It seemed so long ago, you were just starting to roll over. Not long after that, you started crawling. Now, you’re pulling up on everything, standing on your little toes, soon to be walking, I’m sure. Recently, one of our favorite routines has been me chasing you and your mom around before bath time, and you just laughing histerically. As much as I know you likely will, I don’t want you to ever outgrow wanting to do that.
The silver lining is, that by you moving on from the old, comes so much more to look forward to. So we look ahead to this next year with you. A new year of first steps, a growing vocabulary, and a ton of other great adventures. Never forget, no matter how old you get or where you go, you’ll always be our little girl.
