Sweet Baby Birthdays

Here is my precious Angel Baby Caroline on her first birthday. I can't believe she is one today. It seems like just yesterday that I gave birth to her. How can a year go by so quickly while so many things happen in that short amount of time? She is such a joy to us and to her brother and sister and our family and friends. She is a cuddler, she laughs, she loves anything with apples in it, and Ritz crackers are her favorite snack. She loves playing Peek-A-Boo, and raising her arms to show us "How big is Caroline?" She crawls at the speed of light when she hears the bath water running, and she loves her paci, blankie and nummies when it's time to sleep. She loves when her brother rolls with her on the floor, and when her sister helps mom sing "If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops..." She loves to dance and is walking better and better every day- even learning how to walk in shoes now. She loves to stand at the back door and watch through the window as her brother and sister play outside. She loves Baby Einstein and Baby Praise videos, and unfortunately, she loves the toilet. She wants so badly to be included in playing with her brother and sister, sometimes much to their dismay. And today, we discovered that she loves chocolate ice cream.

If only time could slow. If only the minutes would seem more like hours and the hours more like days. When it comes to our kids, it seems that we go through life at warp speed only to find that we feel like we missed it. Have I "stopped to smell the roses" enough over the past year? Can I continue to do that with her, knowing that she is our last baby and that each moment with her is so precious? And when she is older like her brother and sister and the "firsts" are over and the chubbiness is gone, will I still be able to remember her the way she is now, at this very minute? And will I find, as I have with them, that the same exact thing is happening? That I am going through life at warp speed and feeling like I'm missing something? So, Lord, on this Caroline's first birthday, let me never take time with my kids for granted. Help me make each minute count for something. Help me be patient and loving and kind. Help me make memories that will last forever. Help me remember that you have entrusted them to us to make an eternal difference. Use us as parents to help shape them into who you want them to be. And thank you for our three precious babes.