Happy Birthday Carinna!

Dear Carinna,

Today you are a year old! It seems like only last week we brought you home from the hospital! I know that the next 17 years will go just as quickly as this first year, and before we know it you will be leaving us to start life on your own... though I am sure we will still be helping you with laundry and stuff!

Before we knew you were a girl, your dad and I secretly hoped we would have a boy. I know that sounds terrible to say, but the only reason I can remember having for feeling that way was so that Caden would have a brother close in age. As soon as we found out you were a girl we were over joyed... thrilled... ecstatic (as were your grandmothers)! I remember realizing all the fun things we would be able to do together... just us girls. Going to wedding/ baby showers, painting our nails, watching chick flicks, playing with baby dolls... all things I would have missed out on if you had been a boy! You have evened out our family.



Your girlish personality has been obvious from the beginning! You are a little priss! You always hold your little hands up and out to your sides as though they might get dirty if you were to touch them to anything! It is a hoot! The way you talk, sit, crawl, walk, squeal, fuss and snuggle are so very girly. There is no mistaking it, you are most certainly a girly girl...and I am so glad about that!


We have already learned so much about your personality in this first year! I know that you are stubborn and strong willed. I realize this will cause your father and I several challenges as we parent you but part of me hopes you will always have a strong will. I hope that you will be a leader and not a follower. I hope that your will will keep you from many of the pitfalls of peer pressure and prevent you from giving in to situations that could bring you harm. I hope that you will be that girl that doesn't fit into the mold that society will set for you.

You are an adventurer too! You are not afraid of anything! You climb and climb until I think that surely your legs will give out from exhaustion! You love to explore and watch new things. I know that this will probably change and that you will soon reach that phase where you are fearful of many things... but I have a feeling that part of that adventurous spirit will stay with you!

You are so smart! It doesn't take long for you to catch on to a new concept! I use sign language with you, as I did with Caden, and you pick up the new words and signs within minutes. You seem to know just what I am talking about right away!


Did I mention you are stubborn?

I am constantly amazed at how vastly different you are from your brother. I know there are many factors that play into that... birth order, personality, gender... but you two are so different it makes me wonder if you will even be friends as you grow up! Your dad and I will help you two figure out how to deal with each other, but I don't think it will be easy!


You are a happy girl! Now don't get me wrong, you cry. You throw fits too. But overall you are just happy and easy going. When I go into your room to get you out of bed you immediately start jumping up and down and laughing. Then you begin to tell me things. I have no idea what you are saying, but you are adamant that I hear it... all of it. I think you will be a talker too! You talk all the time!

You are loving! You like to snuggle and sit close! You pat on your brother and the dog whenever you feel like they need a boost. You rock and hug your babies and kiss all over their faces all the time! Right now as I type this you are pushing your new shopping cart around with your babies in it. It is so sweet to watch your sweet and loving personality!

And finally I have learned that you don't like birthday cake. Yes, that is right... I could not get you to eat your cake for anything! You do not take after me or your brother in this department! But that is okay... maybe you will be able to keep your girlish figure by staying away from cake! I have no problem getting you to eat healthy foods, so I have no complaints!

We love you so much! You are such a blessing to our family and we can't imagine how things would be without you! I can't wait to see what the future holds for you! I pray that you will become a strong and confident woman. I think God has big plans for you and I look forward to what He has in store.

I am sad that this first year has come and gone and that you will not be a baby any longer. I know that your fat thighs will start to thin out and you will transform into a little girl soon. I know that it won't be long until you don't want to be rocked or held and you will start to get too big to be cuddled like a baby. But seasons change and we will move on to new adventures!

Happy Birthday Carinna! We love you!