Happy Birthday, Baby Llama!

Just 365 short days ago, I was lying in the hospital, bored, and watching Good Morning America. I was waiting not-so-patiently for this sweet little girl to be born.

We've gone from this:



To this, taken yesterday:



And though we have over a thousand pictures of this year, I'll just show three memorable moments.

The happiest one-month-old I've ever seen:



And five months later, the unhappiest octopus I've ever seen:

And last but certainly not least, Little Miss Ladylike at her birthday party on Saturday, showing off her prizes from the Egg Hunt and wearing a dress that her grandma made her:

The more I say about this, the more likely I am to cry (and you all know that I cry a lot), so I'll just say that I'm grateful to have the family that I was born into and the family that I married into. I'm so lucky to have this little Llama to kiss and call my own. And I have learned so, so much in the past year. I can't wait to see all the other April 17ths for the rest of my life.

"If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart the only dream that mattered has come true. In this life, I was loved by you." ~ Collin Raye

Happy birthday, little girl.