Oh, What a Joy! Kaylin Joy Beeson turns 1!

This past week we had the pleasure of celebrating Kaylin's first birthday. I spend so much time on this blog writing about our journey with Avery, that I fear my spunky, noisy, fun and feisty second child may not get quite enough documentation!

When we found out we were having a second daughter, Bryan and I both whispered an elated "yessss" in the sonogram room as we watched her bounce around on the screen. We were in the midst of discovering how deeply Avery was impacted by Autism and Mastocytosis... and for whatever reason, learning that we were having another girl led us to breathe a sigh of relief as we were beginning to understand the importance that having a sister could have for Avery. A baby sister... not even here yet, brought hope, joy, inspiration, and fear all wrapped up into my swelling belly.

When Kaylin arrived, her introduction to the world was fast and furious. She immediately was loved beyond measure, and quickly became the flexible "baby on the go" as we shuffled Avery from appointment to appointment. Thank God for breastfeeding because I was doing good to pack a diaper less well worry about cleaning bottles on the run or mixing formula.
For her first nine months of life, we threw the "rules" out the window and let her sleep with us. I think it was our way of bonding with her since our days were consumed with Avery's therapy and appointments. She did everything pretty much on time... smiled, laughed, cooed, rolled over, played social games, sat up, crawled, and by her one year mark, was walking all over the house bringing us toys, talking, and imitating up a storm. She has several "baby signs" and she lives for attention.

When I try to describe the love I have for my daughters, I know I fall short on relaying just how much and how deeply I cherish them. I am sure you mothers out there can relate, but I must say that though I always knew I would love my children, I never knew how deeply rooted that feeling would live in my soul.... in my heart... and in my total existence.

I am eternally grateful that Kaylin graced our lives when she did. I think I needed her to ground me as much as she needed me in those first few months to survive. She saved me in more ways than I can count, and I hope that I will always celebrate her for the unique and wonderful individual she is becoming. Avery has taught me how to live, how to love and how to see better.... and Kaylin brings her own set of life lessons that I know I will benefit from for the rest of my life. So happy first birthday baby girl. I am so proud of you. Love you to the moon and back again.