Moriah is One!

My Sweet Baby Girl,
It seems like just the other day we took the drive home from the hospital with you, and now you are a year old. From the start you were a joy. You loved to just sleep and cuddle with Daddy and I. We savored every moment of your tinyness, and fell in love with you the moment we laid eyes on you. What a privilege to watch you learn about the world. Your wide eyes just take in everything around you. You were so nosey from the time you were born. You never want to miss a thing. If you hear a noise or see something new you are fixated on it until you figure out what was going on. May you always take in everything with such wonderment!
You have been petite all your life. Always low in the percentages given to us by the doctors, but we think you are so perfectly formed. You may be little but you have a huge personality. From a very young age you could communicate what you wanted. If you had a toy or were somewhere you didn’t want to be you would let me know. I learned early to listen to your cues and change according to what you were telling me. I pray that you always know the desires of your heart and that those desires would be to first and foremost please your Savior.
Daddy and I have taught you about Jesus since the day you were born. You were prayed over in the hospital just moments after you were born, that you would grow up strong not just physically but strong in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Your bedtime routine is to read the Bible, pray and get tucked in. You love looking at the pictures of bible stories. Daddy and I treasure this time of teaching with you and look forward to the day you choose to give your life to Christ. We pray for you daily and we also pray for ourselves that we are being good examples of how to serve Christ.
You are a fast learner and a chatterbox! You have loved the sound of your voice since you realized that you could produce sound. What started out as cooing and gargling has turned into words. You are willing to try and say anything we ask of you and you can remember how to use it correctly. You continue to make us laugh with your communication skills. It is adorable how you whisper a word quietly when you are unsure if you are saying it correctly but as soon as we tell you, “Good girl!” you clap for yourself proudly. What a pleasure it is to see you accomplish things. You have mastered rolling over, crawling, standing and now walking. The happiness you display as you clap for yourself just makes me smile.
One of the best parts of having you for my daughter is seeing you with your daddy. He loves you so deeply! You return the feeling. When Daddy comes home from work you get so excited. You stop what you are doing (even if it is playing with your favorite toy) go to him and wait for him to pick you up for a cuddle. When your daddy plays music, oh how your face lights up! How attentive he is to you and he even allows you to help him play his music. You help him strum on the guitar and dance like crazy to his loud music. Even when you were too little to even move around, daddy could get you to calm down by playing you songs. What a privilege it is to see such love between you and your precious daddy. I pray that it is always this way. That your face always lights up for your daddy and that you always see the love and devotion he has for you. What an amazing Daddy he is.
This first year of your life has been such and adventure. We have been able to travel with you to Florida, Amish Country, go on a cruise to the Bahamas, take you to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens and to Tennessee. You have been a trooper on all your travels, so content and easy to please. One of our favorite things to do as a family is hike. You enjoy the outdoors and Daddy loves having you ride on is back in the backpack. Every time we are out at a store, in the doctor’s office, at a restaurant, or anywhere, you are given complements on what a beautiful baby you are. You are so friendly with everyone. When strangers talk to you and tell you how gorgeous you are you simply smile and wave, sometimes even talk to them. They just think you are the greatest, and I agree! Your Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, Aunts and Uncles all are just enthralled with you and the love you share with your cousin Hannah is just precious. She loves seeing you and talking to you on the phone. You sure are such a sweetheart.
God has given us an amazing gift in you, my little Moriah. I cannot thank Him enough for the blessing you are. I can’t imagine you not being part of our family. I love staying home with you each day, spending that quality time, just the two of us. You love to cuddle close to me and give me kisses and I love it that you find security in my arms. You have grown and changed this year from a tiny infant to a bubbly baby who is just tons of fun. I love you my little baby girl. I am so excited to see what God has planned for you this coming year because this past year has been so fabulous.
Happy First Birthday Sweetie!
Love,
Momma