I cannot believe that in six short days, my baby girl will turn ONE YEAR OLD.

This time last year, I was a hot mess … dealing with the final non-stress tests and ultrasound (when she failed to be “responsive enough”), my pre-op meeting with my OB, last-minute purchases and nursery preparations … and, oh yea … having awful visions of dying on the operating table.

(Note to self: do not watch a video of a C-section if you are about to have the surgery … ignorance is bliss in some instances!).

I was also worried about Maya’s size and overall health, given all the prenatal testing we endured and paranoid about if she would be, indeed, OK.

I hesitate to say all the testing and worrying and drama was for nothing … she was, indeed, OK — very OK. The truth is, for Luis and I, there was some comfort in the amount (and intensity) of prenatal care I had.

Today … Maya is a clapping, standing, “walking” (with the help of this) cruising, waving, social, dancing, chatting, hair-brushing toddler who loves to do “Soooooo big!” She is a ham and loves to make us laugh and smile. When we tickle her, her belly laughs lights up the room. She squeals in delight when Rocco comes near, and always reaches out to pet him, double dimples showing.

She isn’t the biggest kid in her class and she might not ever be … but she is growing and thriving at her own pace, and that’s just fine for us. She even has two teeth now–a new development the past month. And both her nubby hands — so chubby you can’t even see her teensy  knuckles — and her thick thighs just beckon to be squeezed.

She is a joy, pure joy … and I cannot believe she is almost a year old.

Today, this is our little family (Rocco missed this shoot but don’t worry; he’s in our holiday card!). We aren’t perfect parents and spouses 100% of the time, but we are, to quote a friend, “imperfectly perfect ” in our own little way.

And that’s all I could ask for.

* Photos courtesy of the amazing Staci Ainsworth at onesweetmoment Photography.