Our sweet baby Dakota is 1!

Wow!!! Has One year passed already? On January 2nd (Dakotas birthday) I woke up with a ton of emotions and could not seem to get myself together as I soaked in the presence of God. Just thinking about how he has pulled us through one heck of a year alone had me choked up as my eyes filled with never ending tears.

I was keeping busy around the house making up our bed to be exact when my husband saw my face. He signaled for me to come to him as embraced me in his arms as said “I know, it’s ok babe” it was at that very moment when I just let the tears go boogers and all! Not to mention, I, also, had a Drs. appointment on this very same day to get an ultrasound to check in on our unborn child. Yes!! You heard me right...we are expecting “Another One” (DJ Khaled voice) *whoosah* I told my husband he was not allowed to cough on me anymore LOL!

Needless to say, my nerves and emotions were on 10 for the majority of the day. From the time I stepped foot into the emergency room until now I am still taken a back by the whole life change we encountered in a matter of minutes that quickly translated into days, weeks and now a year. Was it easy? NO! Were we stressed out? To the max! Would we do it again? In a heartbeat.

We have come across and heard so many different stories of families who's situation did not turn out as ours did...for that we know we are blessed and was carefully hand picked to raise Dakota. This has been a challenging year for us with numerous appointments, evaluations, screenings and countless dos and don’t s. In the beginning stages when Dakota came home we would always second guess, make extra calls and get second opinions just to be on top of things.

I would always compare her to other babies her size “She's so tiny!, Is she eating enough? Will she get bigger? If so, when? ”My brain just would not chill until one day enough was enough. I mean I was driving myself stir crazy until I finally snapped out of it and realized she is healthy, she is happy and she is her own individual self, if it was in her life plan to be like others God would have made her as such...but he didn’t. Just that quick my mentality changed and I gently started treating my daughter as a “regular child”.

Dakota is a little behind, which is to be expected, but she is nothing short of a fire cracker, this little 15 pounder is a piece of work. As of right now her only words are “da da” and “hey”, she is building her strength up in her legs and arms so I know she will be crawling in no time.

She lights up like a Christmas Tree when her Dad and sister walks in the room I get the “There is that lady again” look LOL! My husband has been nothing short of amazing and Demi has been beyond extraordinary throughout this year, honestly I could not have done it without her. When daddy is away for work she holds the fort down! She never murmurs or complains when I need her and she is always cheerful and happy to help.

Although one year has swiftly came and went we still have many days ahead of us that we are, patiently, looking forward to them. Being the realist that I am creates certain comfort within me knowing that we will encounter bumps along this road, but even with those bumps and detours...THE BEST IS YET TO COME! From my heart to yours..