It is incredible to look back on the past year and to gratefully acknowledge the wonder that Aurelia Ayn has brought into our lives. She came into this world after many months and weeks of anticipation. We could hardly imagine then who she might be. Now we know her lovely smile, her beautiful laugh and the generous way in which she shares them both with us and everyone around her.
She found her voice and learned her strength in new ways each and every one of the 365 days she has been alive in this world. Her first word was Momma (I think it was the first word she really meant). Now she says Dada, met (milk), nana (banana), down, bah (ball, or anything else that she wants and cannot pronounce), medi (medicine), hi-cha (high chair), mum-mum (a cracker, aptly named mum-mum), night-night, and her favorite word lately, bye-bye.
Aurelia says bye-bye to everything. When she drops something on the ground, she looks at you first and then says "bye-bye" as she drops it. She says bye-bye when dada leaves the room, even for a minute. She says bye-bye in her high chair to her food or drink when she is done with it as she holds it over the edge of her tray before sending it falling to the floor.
For a few weeks now she has said down as she raises and lowers herself while holding onto her singles bar or pull-up mirror. Sometimes she also says something like up. Funny enough, she lowers her voice to say down and raises it to say up - like her Momma, Dada, Aunt Whitney and beloved singles bar do. They learn so fast and pick up on such small details.
Aurelia loves to point, even before she is sure what she is pointing to. She just wants to make sure she has your attention. When she meets someone for the first time, or greets a stranger in the grocery store, she reaches up to the bow in her hair and pulls it out, despite the grimace on her face as she rips out several strands of her own hair. Apparently she is demonstrating her own form of courtesy, as it is almost always with strangers and consistently when she is saying hello for the first time - a tip of the hat, Reli style.
Our Aurelia has always been strong, ever since those first few days in the hospital. She could stand on her own two feet only 2 weeks after she was born, and long before we were ready. She has shown signs of being able to walk on her own for some time now, but really saved the moment of taking her first few consecutive steps. She would take a step now and then, but really wasn't ready to walk until a couple of days ago when Aunt Whitney provided her just the right amount of encouragement. That Aunt Whitney is soooo good! So here is Reli, proudly walking just days before her first birthday. . .
I look back at the picture at the top of this blog and wonder at the fact that it was taken only one week after Aurelia was born. That tiny head, that tiny body, so dependent on her father and mother. Jonathan and I, poised looking into the future, not knowing what was in store, but thinking ambitious thoughts for our amazing daughter. We could not have pictured her as she is now. She is so unique, so different from us, but so similar at the same time. It is amazing what can happen in one single year.
In addition to all of the changes Aurelia has gone through, there are the changes she has brought about in me and Jonathan. We have become decision makers, role models, care givers, dietitians, nurses, teachers, body guards, task masters, photographers. We became parents.
One year. It is amazing how much can change in one year, if you welcome the change and let it grow into your every day. I am so grateful for this year. Thank you Aurelia, for becoming who you are and for teaching me about who I am and who I need to be. Happiest of birthdays my darling daughter. I love you more than you may ever know.
