Happy First Birthday to our baby girl

Anika turned one year old yesterday.  It's hard to believe she's only been in our lives for one year (actually, one year and nine months, because as any mother knows, as soon as you're pregnant you start thinking of this wee little person as, well, YOUR wee little person) and no matter how cranky and tired and ornery we all get sometimes, we are brought to giggles and prone to at least one moment of "wow, she is such a miracle" each and every day.

Unfortunately for Anika, we spent the majority of her actual birthday cleaning and preparing for her party, of which she will have no memory but whose momentous importance required me to scrub each and every room in our house.  (Mom used to call this the 'company monster' and I am afraid that I morphed into said monster a moment or two there.)  I am lying on my bed at the moment, and realized that this is the first time I've really sat down in probably three days.  Anika is similarly wiped out, because she's been napping over an hour, which as most of you know is a rarity.

She survived her one-year appointment, complete with a battery of shots, and impressed me with her quick recovery.  The nurses deserve some credit here, as they came in like navy seals, each armed with three shots each, and before I could even wince (and before Ani's cry reached its crescendo) they were done.  One swept back into the room with a red lollipop, a princess sticker, and a pop-up Christmas toy, and suddenly all tears were forgotten.  Whoever came up with that phrase "easy as taking candy from a baby" has obviously never tried to pry a cherry lollipop from the hands of a one-year-old.

She enjoyed her party last night, and besides a few moments of feeling overwhelmed (candles and Happy Birthday song, I'm talking about you), she really got into the whole "wow these toys are cool -- hey, wait, there's another one! And another one! They just keep magically appearing from behind all of that paper that you really? Want me to rip? Are you sure?"

So, on the occasion of us welcoming you into the world one year ago, Miss Anika, I'd like to write a few things about you that we can sit and laugh about when you're a teenager and think that because I don't let you stay out past 10 that I must hate your guts.

• You are the sweetest little girl -- looking up at me to ask for permission before diving into something I've given you that looks forbidden (presents, keys, a huge hunk of cinnamon roll); stopping to wrap your arms around me like a spider monkey when I pick you up out of your car seat and giving me a nice big hug; smiling with your entire body and kicking your little legs and squealing "DA-DA!" when your dad enters the room and picks you up; pointing to the mama and baby puppy hugging in your favorite book, Snuggle Puppy.
• You can also be a little devil -- pinching our skin and giving a wicked toothy grin when we inevitably yell "ouch!" before doing it again; looking at me as you deliberately pull the lights off of the tree, or try to climb into the toilet bowl, or pick up bits of food from your tray and whip them so hard that some of them actually stick to the wall.
• You are a barrel full of fun -- you are constantly giggling, and want to play chase, and peek-a-boo, and sack of potatoes, and climb up my back so you can ride piggy-back style around the house, laughing your laugh that is almost magically sweet as I trot around and wonder where you get all of your energy
• You are an independent little girl when you care to be, always wanting to try something yourself and do it without any help and pick it up with your own hands or use your own spoon or put on your own bib or, most of all, do things on your own schedule.  Sometimes, though, you rely too much on us, like when it's time to go to sleep and we have to walk you around the house for 30 minutes before you finally nod off.

We love you like crazy and are just in awe that we actually created something as cool as you.  Happy birthday.