November 15, 2009
Happy First Birthday Sweet Baby Emma!
Your Daddy and I both decided to write you a letter on your first birthday to share with you some things about this first year of your life. It is hard to believe how quickly the time has flown by, but I can assure you that we haven’t missed a minute of your adventures! You are one of the most curious little girls I have ever known and definitely the smartest and most beautiful!
You were born on November 15, 2008 at 12:20am. When you get older, we will let you stay up that late so you can celebrate just after midnight. Last night, you went to bed at 7:30pm…that seems more reasonable for someone that was about to turn one. Emma, you are an excellent sleeper and that has really made this first year pretty easy on Mommy and Daddy.
When we first brought you home from the hospital, Daddy and I were so excited to finally have you here with us…and a little confused about why they let two people that didn’t know anything about babies take you home with us. We spent the first several days trying to figure out what your different cries meant. The good thing was that you really only cried if you were hungry or needed to be changed. Daddy and I pretty quickly figured out what you needed and when you needed it. However, I think you would have taken a bottle every 15 minutes if we gave it to you. You have always been a good eater!
You had your last bottle this past Friday which was actually 2 days before your first birthday. The doctor said you should give it up before you turned 1. You have really taken to drinking out of your sippy cup and you made the transition very smoothly. You currently have only 2 teeth and they are both on the bottom. You like to eat any kind of baby food, crackers, bananas, pasta, and bread. You also like to look and see what everyone else is eating. The other night you had chicken and bananas and you fed yourself all of it! You also used the banana pieces to try and style your hair. The good news is that you like to take baths…so we were able to get your hair straightened out pretty easily.
The first month or so that you were at home, you mostly just laid around. If Daddy or I needed to do something, we could put you on a blanket and we knew that you would still be right there when we returned. That is definitely not the case anymore! For the past couple of months, you have been pulling up on everything in the house. You are really interested in the stairs these days and it is great exercise for us to keep up with you. Not only are you curious…you are really fast!
Emma, it is such a privilege to be your Mommy. God has truly blessed Daddy and I with a daughter more precious than we would have ever been bold enough to ask for. Having you as our daughter helps us realize more about how much God loves us and what a huge deal it is that He gave His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
We want you to be happy and to know that you are always loved. We want you to have a great education and learn what it means to have a biblical worldview. We look forward to many late hours staying up and talking and laughing together. We also realize that there will be tears as some of life’s greatest lessons are hard ones. We pray now for the friends that you will choose and especially for the young man that God has created to be your husband and to love you when you leave our home one day. More than anything, we look forward to the day when you realize that God created you and that Jesus loves you and wants to give you the gift of eternal life. Your Daddy and I have prayed for you since the moment we knew about you and will continue to pray for you until the end of our days. Our prayer is that you would know Christ, that you would grow in Him, and that you would make Him known to others.
Happy First Birthday Emma Kathryn Strange! You are our treasure and we are having a blast watching you grow up right in front of our eyes. We will love you forever and will be here for you always!
Love,
Mommy
