Whenever I photograph a baby's one year old photo session, I can't help but think of it in terms of a celebration for the parents in honor of all they've achieved in the past year. I guess that's true for every birthday, but especially that first one.

I cannot think of a single year in my life where I changed more than the year Megan was born. I remember leaving the hospital that day and feeling like a complete fraud.  Who the hell decided I was capable of raising a human?  Especially the most beautiful, amazing, human I’d ever seen? I had wanted this…planned it all out, even read all the books, but suddenly felt like I had no idea what I was doing.  And I was so overwhelmed with this intense love like I’d never felt before…love mixed with fear that I would screw up the most important job I’d ever had. 

Over the next year, I learned so much.  Most importantly, to trust my own instincts and that it was OK not to have all the answers. I learned that I could love my husband even more, seeing what an amazing father he had become. I learned that I could function on very little sleep if I had to, and sometimes those moments in the middle of the night where she looked up at me and smiled were way better than sleeping anyway. And I learned that they really weren’t kidding when they say it all goes by in a blink of an eye. 

This is a poem that I printed in Megan’s baby photo book and it still brings tears to my eyes, 11 years later.

“I was pregnant, then I blinked my eyes….

and held you in my arms.

I brought you home then I blinked my eyes…

Your first smile showed me your charms.

I watched you crawl and then I blinked my eyes…

And you were running down the hall. 

You’re growing so fast; forgive my cries.

I was pregnant, then I blinked my eyes."

- Dana Robers Clark

So to Kate and Adam: Congrats on surviving your first year as parents.  She’s an amazingly perfect little human.  Happy first birthday, Charlotte!! It's been a honor to capture your moments over this past year, beginning with your birth story. 

What did you learn in your first year of parenthood?