CAKE SMASH! Salt Lake City, Utah

I got to finish up my busy couple weeks with my youngest daughter's FIRST BIRTHDAY! It's amazing how quickly a year goes when you're busy trying to teach a toddler how to not poop in her pants, keep your baby from eating everything in site - literally, everything - and simultaneously trying to keep both children from killing one another whether on purpose or accident. Motherhood is far different from what I ever expected. I expected dirty diapers and sleepless nights. I expected lots of tiny clothes in the laundry and early morning wake up calls. But I didn't expect a toddler who reads more books than I do; a baby who does figure eights around my ankles to get me to pick her up, and little girls who want me to sing them songs every night. When I got married, my husband was ready a lot earlier than I was for children. I wanted at least 4 years before even thinking about it, but 2 years came and went and before year 3 we had our oldest daughter. I could never have expected the complete joy that she brought with her - even now in all her almost-three-year-old antics - and that has only been bolstered with her sister. I know too many people who have known tragedies with their children, before birth and after. My heart breaks for those who have pain intermixed with motherhood, but it also leaps to know and understand the joy of celebrating your child's first birthday.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NORAH!