A minute can last a lifetime…

Every day we go about our lives, and every day the world as we know it shifts a little bit.  Some days bring small innocent changes, barely noticeable amongst the twists and turns, and others affect us in more substantial ways.  A year ago today, our lives were turned upside down.  I can’t help but think back to that evening, one full of nervousness and excitement.  Normally those times are a blur, but I still vividly remember seeing our daughter for the first time, hearing her cry, and seeing those big blue eyes look out at the world.

And now she’s a year old, no longer the baby we took home from the hospital.  In the past year we’ve seen her smile, laugh, crawl, stand, speak and sign.  We watched her sleep, and stayed up with her through the morning hours.  We watched her take her first step, and held her when she fell only to watch her stand back up again.  We learned to be parents, and she learned… well, to be Ashlyn.

We wanted to do something special for her, so we took some vacation time and made a trip out to the zoo.

She went on her first carousel ride.  I'd like to say she laughed with joy the entire time, but mostly she had a look on her face that said "Why am I going up and down?".

Some things made her angry, and others made her think.
 

Some things fascinated Ashlyn…


...while some things were fascinated by Ashlyn.


Afterwards, we came home and opened up a few more presents.  Being the caring child that she is, she wanted to share one of her presents with mom.


After that, she fell sleep.  And she turned 1, officially, 11 minutes prior to this posting.  Happy birthday crab, it's been a crazy ride this past year, thanks for letting us take it.