Leila Rose Petal

The Cupcake Kid by MarkOMeara

Dear Leila,

It’s taken me a couple of weeks to get around to writing this because I am slack. This is not good. A letter to a girl for her first birthday should happen close to, if not on, that birthday. You can tell your therapist all about it when you’re a big girl.

You are one year old. It’s very trite, but true, to say that it’s hard to imagine the little squished up girl who opened one eye, looked at Dad and I and then shut it fast as the same happy little girl who is crawling around our house getting into everything. It doesn’t make it any less wonderful though.

A week after your birthday we had a party for you with most of your family and friends to help you celebrate. That was late too. You didn’t notice at all. You had a great time with people who love you, lots of presents to play with and cup cakes to eat. The cup cakes, with pink icing and heart-shaped sprinkles, were made by Dad by the way and he did a fantastic job.

In terms of milestones you’re crawling, pulling yourself up on the furniture, saying a couple of words (’no’ and ‘ta’), eating like a champion (while still keeping your supermodel figure) and doing almost all the things the typical one year old does. The stuff you’re not doing is of no consequence - it’ll happen in its own sweet time.

I took you to see the Maternal & Child Health Nurse the other day for your 12 month check up. My main reason for going was to get you weighed and measured, since everybody tells me how petite you are and I don’t notice. It turns out that, while you’re reasonably long for your age (on the 75th percentile), you’re rather skinny (25th percentile) - hence your supermodel figure. I thought perhaps I’d been under feeding you, but I was reassured by checking Finn’s 12 month measurements and finding that, although you are smaller than he was, a similar differential existed between his length and weight. So you are both tall, skinny kids - fine with me. That’s what I was and I’m pretty sure your dad was too. We are a family of tall, skinny kids (Dad and I are still skinny kids on the inside).

Now’s the point at which I tell you just how much you light up our lives. Seeing you and Finn together is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Perhaps especially so when he’s bouncing toys off your head and you’re sitting there laughing about it … until it hurts. Then he gives you a kiss and an awkward hug and the fun begins again. This is everything I could want for both of you. A sibling you can laugh and play with, have a cry and a cuddle with and then go on together. This is my family and you complete that picture.

Happy 1st Birthday my Princess,
Love Mum