365 Days

At exactly 10:17 am, 365* days ago today, a new life came in to being. After 32 hours and at least that many stitches, our girl had arrived. With one slow blink, she irreversibly wound her way into our hearts. Since that time, we've had ups and downs. And a LOT of messes. We've learned a little bit about parenting but mostly we've learned that everything we thought we knew, we didn't. What follows are just a few of the lessons we've learned in the last year:

- A naked baby is a cute, but dangerous thing.

- Babies, much like cats, love toilet paper.

- Babies will always pick the exact moment that you fall asleep to start crying.

- Never, EVER, wake a sleeping baby.

- A little bit of orange baby food can make a big mess.

- Favorite toys are those not intended to be: water bottles, empty boxes, coasters, etc.

- Babies can sleep through a marching band practicing across the street (true story), but one misplaced foot on the creaky stair brings them fully awake.

- Babies can puke more than seems possible and smile about it.

- Changing a diaper on a plane sucks. Big time.

- Babies have inhumanly strong hands.

- Babies love pooping in a freshly changed diaper.

- You really do forget about the pain of childbirth, but it takes a while.

- Just when you think you're starting to get the hang of things, they change.

- Cuddling a baby is just about the best thing in the whole world.

Happy Birthday, Sophie Bean!!

*Technically speaking, it was 366 days because 2008 was a leap year, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.