Emma’s First Birthday from Justpowers on Vimeo.

Emma is one today.

I remember every minute of this day one year ago. I especially remember being utterly amazed at how beautiful she was, the second she was born. I had prepared pretty well for the labor and delivery and even for bringing her home and making sure she was taken care of in a material sense. There was no way for me to prepare for the emotional impact she would have on me, or for how immediate that impact would be. She was beautiful and so real and even though she was just over five pounds, she already held a place in my heart and my life that was bigger than most of the grownups living there.

She still surprises me with her beauty. She dances to music, talks to the cats, and delights in every new experience. She is already smarter than me, but forgives me for it, and loves James Taylor, which, let’s face it, is all you have to do to win me over.

Today was a mixed bag of emotions for me. I cried a few times, thinking about the power of her birth, how fast the year has gone and how fast the rest of them will go. Mostly I was happy though, playing with her in the first snow of the season - which arrived as her birthday present from Mother Nature - watching her flirt with all the nice people at the grocery store who couldn’t help but talk to her, and helping her learn how to play with her cool new birthday presents.

This post is a little disjointed I guess, but it feels like there are no words really to express what I feel about my daughter. Most of you feel it already anyway - either for Emma or for your own child/ren - so I know I don’t really need to explain too much. I feel like the Grinch at the end of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” when his heart grew three sizes. Before I had Emma, I thought my heart was pretty much finished growing. Now that she is here, it grows a little more each day.