Charlotte is One Year Old

Happy first birthday, Charlotte.

You are a year old. You are our constant companion. You are a devoted follower of your doting brothers, determined to do exactly what they do. You are our precocious little girl who somehow manages to be both incredibly independent and incredibly needy at the same time. You are a lesson in laughter, a study in sweetness. You are our baby.

You didn't know for a while whether or not you wanted to join us all "on the outside." You kept your mother in complete panic mode for weeks on end; she didn't know if you were going to come 5 weeks early or 5 days late. In the end we tried to force you out, and even then you did things on your own terms. It took us 17 hours to convince you that things were great out here, and you still managed to come a day after your due date.

Before you were born, we wondered how you would fit into our little family of four. We loved your brothers with all of our hearts, and while we were excited and expectant and very, very anxious to meet you, we were a little worried how things would work. Our worry was, of course, silly. You came, and suddenly our hearts were bigger. We had more than enough love to go around.

How did we ever manage without you?

When you were new, you slept a lot. Your hair was fuzzy and dark, and you refused to take a pacifier, instead relying on the first two fingers of your right hand.

Occasionally your demanding nature made your mother tired, but the colic wore out after three months and we all settled into a happy routine. You still slept a lot.

We dragged you everywhere. You were happy to be dragged. Your mother nursed you everywhere. You were happy to be nursed.

Everyone adored you, and they still do.

You were always cheerfully accommodating when your mother used you in impromptu photography sessions. You liked the one-on-one attention. Who can blame you?

We continued to drag you everywhere. So far, in your one year, you've seen lots of Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee. You like Chicago best, which makes your mother happy. Of course, you haven't always appreciated the edification we have attempted to force down your throat. Most of the time you just sleep, even when surrounded by priceless original art.

Early on you displayed a keen knack for accessorizing. You always look pretty fabulous.

You developed so quickly (at least in comparison to your preemie brothers) that you often took us by surprise. The pattern follows thusly: You watch everyone intently, practice quietly to yourself, and then -- BOOM! -- display your new skill to the general surprise and delight of your onlooking admirers. You are, in short, very talented.

Of course your two favorite teachers (and playmates and fightmates and heroes and enemies) are your big brothers, Baylor and Jack. They, in turn, love you fiercely and accept you readily; never once did either of them blink an eye when you suddenly appeared on the scene. In fact, when they first visited you in the hospital, they were more concerned with their superhero backpacks than with you. You see, you're very special, but you're still just a little sister. They like to remind you of your place.

You three are as thick as thieves, and already we've begun hearing, "Oh, are they triplets?" from various strangers. Your next big plan is learning how to walk. Then your brothers will never be able to leave you behind again.

You love to laugh, play games, babble, and throw your arms over your head and shout, "Da-da!," which means, in this context, "Blast off!" You worked hard to turn your dark crop of hair blonde, and you are growing leaner, longer, and stronger every day. You still love to accessorize.

You have never met a food, cat, balloon, or headband you didn't like. You are afraid of nothing, with the notable exception of swimming pools. You have climbed and fallen off of nearly every surface in our house, and you like to deconstruct your mother's collection of Renaissance tragedies each and every day. You demand a lot of attention, and if you aren't picked up as soon as you make your wishes known, the entire world hears about it. You are a princess.

You ache to play outside when you are stuck inside. You love to sample dirt, sticks, and grass, and you think you're big enough to slide down your brothers' slide. You hate hearing that you're too little to do something.

You are wonderful. Beautiful. Irreplaceable. Absolutely, without a doubt, the most fantastic little girl in the world. We can't imagine our lives without you.

To sum it up, we love you. Happy Birthday, sweetheart.

love,

Mama and Daddy