My darling little bird, Stella; Even though February is the shortest month, your arrival and all consuming love in our life have made it go by even faster. Every Tuesday evening as we've cuddled up in our cozy living room, each glance at the clock has brought back thoughts from the day you were born. Although I knew you in a different way from 9 months of us sharing a body, your entire labor - all 37 hours - has given me even more of an understanding of you - before I even knew you were our Stella.

From those hours of pacing the halls at the hospital - 11pm, 2am, 4am, 6am. When would you come, why were you taking your time? Did you understand the doctors might make you come out before you were ready? But you kept your cool each time they checked you - a steady beat that only varied slightly at each check. You were fine. You were doing things in your own way. We've come to know even more, that's just who you are.

You'll learn soon that I love to tell stories. And I love to tell them though photographs. I love to relive the stories of our family almost every day, flipping through the photos on my phone. And the past month all I can consume beyond just being with you is photos of you. Even when you're in the room (which I know is so weird). This is the language that I speak - a way I can begin to grasp at a tangible way to be able to tell you how much I love you, your dad, our life together. And someday I hope you'll be able to understand a deeper part of how I love you when you look at images like this.