Dear Vivienne,

Today you are one year old! ONE! YAAAAAAAAY ONE! We are teaching you to count right now, so there you go. Joyeux Anniversaire!! We are also teaching you French, and will continue to do so. Je t’aime mon petit champignon!! (this means mushroom) and Mommy loves mushrooms, so it is in fact a term of endearment.

Look at you! Your smile lights up the world and you charm everyone you meet.

You are a treasure and as we tell you each and every day,

“We love you, We are proud of you, and You are ours”

I would like to add, Thank you so much for being born!

You are teaching your mother patience and grace. Two things your Mom is still working on AND you have done a great job this first year instructing her on how “to relax, relax, relax”

It may interest you to know, your Nana has been trying to teach me that lo these many years, so congratulations on doing that which she could not do.

What a joy you are, what joy you bring to the world and definitely our world!

Your eyes sparkle and I can see the wheels turning, you haven’t said your first words yet and I can’t wait till you do. I can’t wait to talk to you for hours (though that’s many years into the future) about your favourite subject in school, your friendships and relationships and the movie you can’t wait to see or the books you are reading and well, just everything. 

You definitely have moments of upset and that is normal and ongoing.

I hate hearing you cry when there isn’t anything I can do to help you feel better. At the moment, you are teething and we give you medicine and icy teething rings along with the occasional Orajel application when the pain is just too bad. I wish so much that you could avoid pain, but this is part of growing so it will continue in one form or another.

Mommy never wants to lie to to you, so I am being honest when I say, this pain will end but another pain will take it’s place. More on that, when you are old enough to understand it.

You are walking.. a few steps and then falling and quite literally this is known as “baby steps” and absolutely expected.

Before you know it, you will be running, maybe with Mommy? 

I love you my sweet baby girl and you make Mommy very happy!

Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mom

*edited t