The Frick Family – Willow’s First Birthday

Happy First Birthday Willow!

You reach a certain age when all your friends start popping out babies. Then you find yourself with a husband and baby of your own. This little girl is the perfect combination of both her mama and her daddy, and always has a smile on her face. Grant park beach was the perfect spot for this mermaid inspired first birthday shoot. I found a poem that accurately represents how it feels to have your little one grow. I want to share it with you, and my best friend Kayla on her baby’s first birthday.

The Last Time

author unknown

From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,
you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
when you had freedom and time,
and nothing in particular to worry about.
You will know tiredness like you never knew before,
and days will run into days that are exactly the same,
full of feedings and burpings,
nappy changes and crying,
whining and fighting,
naps or lack of naps,
it might seem like a never-ending cycle.

But don’t forget…
There is a last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed your baby
for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
and it will be the last time you ever hold your
sleeping child.
One day you will carry them on your hip,
then set them down,
and you will never pick them up again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
and from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
they will never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
and it will be the last night you ever wake to this.
One afternoon you will sing “The wheels on the bus”
and do all the actions,
then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
the next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bettime story and wipe your
last dirty face.
They will one day run to you with arms raised,
for the very last time.

The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time.
Until there are no more times, and even then,
it will take you a while to realize.

So while you are living in these times,
remember there are only so many of them and
when they are gone,
you will yearn for one more day of them.

For one last time.

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