12 months that went way too fast

 

just a "few" of my favorite photos of brylee sue

it feels like just yesterday i first saw you move inside your mama's belly. it seems like just yesterday that i was sitting next to your mom & dad in a hospital room playing scrabble and watching friends waiting for you to greet us. that was the second best day of my life so far. the day you came into this world. i remember when i first saw you all covered in muck. a goo covered beauty that would forever change our lives. the instant we saw you we knew you were a beautiful girl inside and out. i remember the moment i looked into your dad's eyes as we stood in awe. in awe of the miracle that you were. in awe that your mom & dad could create a life, a very beautiful precious life. brylee, you are a miracle. the day i saw you was the day i knew that miracles are very real and tangible. i realized that you are a blessed daughter of a Heavenly Father. 

to say that you have changed me doesn't really seem like enough. i'm sure your parents and the rest of your family would say the same thing. you are nothing short of amazing, miraculous, beautiful, and hilarious. you make me smile every time i see that little 4-toothed grin. your hair really makes you who you are, i was thinking that to try to tame that mane would just be criminal. your laugh is the most magnificent sound i have ever heard. i could snuggle you forever and ever. you've got spunk, i think it's what i love most about you. you cry when i leave your house... i kind of really love that. i love that you like me and that you like to play with your auntie. you made my sister a mama. you bring her so much joy. 

growing up i had wonderful aunts in my life who helped raise me. they were like my second moms. i felt safe when they were around. i felt loved. i still feel loved by them. i know that they would do anything for me. when i got married i became an aunt to a slew of amazing kiddos. i love them more than i ever dreamed i would. but there is something different about helping your sister after her first miscarriage, seeing her recover from that fear and try again. something about watching your sister announce her pregnancy & hear that the heartbeat was strong. there's something about watching her and her husband open an envelope to find out that they're having a little baby girl. watching the sister that guided you through life experience motherhood. it is a special thing. something very near and dear to my heart.

a year ago i realized just how it feels to have your heart love more than you thought it could. how it feels to love another as your own. i would do anything for that sweet little girl. that love is so real and so powerful. i can't even imagine how i will feel when i hold my own baby in my arms. i think my heart will burst right out of my chest. 

happy 1st birthday brylee girl. i love you to pieces and i can't wait to see what you do with this life you've been given. i am so happy that i get to watch you learn and grow.