Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers!

Motherhood is a an amazing transition. During this first year it has been a balancing act between reflecting on the past on the events that have shaped me (including a huge dose of gratitude for the role my mother played in my life) and projecting into the future the life my daughter could have (shaped in part by the choices that I make now). The last nine months have been amazing in ways that I could have never anticipated with a little girl that is incredible. I feel like the luckiest mother in the world to have such a special daughter. Every day is a gift and the presents just get better all the time- I can't even guess what tomorrow will bring except that it will include a smile (and likely some laughter).

On our first mother's day, we had a fun-filled day of sunshine. We went to a park for some swinging, a walk to the Ballard Farmer's Market, and exploration in our backyard. What more could you ask for (besides the yummy Black Forest Cake that Luc is making me right now? Nothing! Did I mention that Luc makes this whole thing so much better?) Another little gift that Amelia brought to us today was her decision to climb the stairs. Luc has been showing her how to lift her knee and pull herself up. She has kinda done one step on her own before. But today she really decided to do it. She climbed THREE stairs in a row and then decided to come back down- backwards and slowly lowering herself. Granted her counting sucks and she stopped a little too soon, tried to sit down, and would have tumbled down if we hadn't caught her. But I think her counting will improve with time. She is simply remarkable, especially if you've seen our staircase- it is a twisty spiral and you have to choose the right place to climb to make it up. I think that is what prevented her from going any further!

Here is my favorite picture series in a while- Amelia discovering the flavor of dirt (turns out not to be nearly as good as brie, which she seems to like quite a lot!).