Well, we made it through our first year! My little Pumpkin is already 13 months old and wow has she grown-and so have I. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago I was eagerly doing jumping jacks trying to persuade my body to go into labor already (btw-it didn't work. I ended up getting induced). Looking back, that me seems like an entirely different person! This last year has been by far the best year of my life-mommy hood is everything I dreamt and more. From the infinite cuddles to the late nights to the diaper changes, I love being Pumpkin's mommy.
This last year has also been a year of enormous growth for both Pumpkin and myself though. I look back on how I used to think, and what factors influenced my decision making and it is like I'm looking back on a whole different version of myself. Over the past year I've had to learn to juggle a full time, work-from-home job, being a new mom, being a wife, a stepmom, a dog owner, and the housework. It has definitely been an adventure. And while I am making it work, I definitely still have a long way to grow. Likewise, when I look at my daughter's newborn pictures she looks completely different, and nothing I could ever do would be able to convince her to spend an entire day in my lap (I'm so glad now that I took advantage of all that time while it lasted). Now she is up, running around, laughing and getting into EVERYTHING she can find as she explores the world, and I know her journey is truly just beginning. In a weird way, I think that she helps me grow and learn just as much as I help her. Everyday both of us grow up together, and I wouldn't have it any other way!
