So far I have watched my little child grow from little ticks of movement, squeaks of noise, spit ups and no support...then confidently sitting and standing...into an outrageously amazing child of love, light and energy.

As I am writing this, I turned and looked at my daughter. There she is, sitting on top of the family room floor vent watching a Noggin commercial and applying a yellow crayon onto her lips as if it were her daily dosage of Chapstick.

She's only 17 months old, yet I look back at infinite moments I still adore - thousands of moments I want to savor forever. Here are some milepebbles that proudly hang in my hall of memories:

• Looking at the sonogram screen, comprehending that the teeniest dot flashing quickly was my daughter, the size of a piece of rice... and the flashing was her miraculous heartbeat.
• Seeing her in my arms for the 1st time, completely depending on my love and care. So fragile...so pure.
• The 1st time my heart felt so much concern to make sure my child got everything she needed.
• Seeing her smile as she slept.
• The excitement I had when she began to eat solid foods.
• Her 1st laugh...and every laugh after that.
• The simplest gestures I did that made her little body shake with laughter and my craving to keep doing it to hear her laugh again.
• My heart dropping when she rolled over, sat up and walked along our couch
• Taking her 1st steps on her own.
• Moving her from my co-sleeper to her crib across our room (yes, I cried).
• The day she held my head in her little hands and kissed me.
• Moving her from an infant car seat to a bigger car seat, finally seeing her beautiful face in my rearview mirror.
• The 1st day she hugged me back.
• Hearing her first words.
• Watching her say "HI-eeeee!" to every single person that she passed by and expecting a response.
• My jaw dropping when she danced to music, memorized "ring around the rosie", knew over 50% of the pictures from the alphabet flashcards and made 'deals' with me (if she has a pen in her hand, she'd much rather offer a kiss than give up the pen.).
• My shock to see her do everything she can to make sure Daddy and Mommy are loved equally (she will kiss Daddy, then run over to kiss me before moving on).
• Laughing to tears with my husband over how she says "No" to everything we say to her (i.e. "Are you a good girl?" ..."No." "Honey, hand mommy that toy" ..."No." "Babygirl, give me a kissie!" ..."No.").

I went to a restaurant with a friend and her children. For the 1st time I chose a booster seat instead of a high chair for her. My heart jumped. I just couldn't believe she was sitting in a booster seat already! My little baby, who I've only seen in an infant car seat or high chair, is now sitting next to me! Later as we were leaving, I didn't carry her out as I always have. Didn't use a stroller either. I actually set her feet on the ground, took a deep breath and let her hold my hand. We walked out of the restaurant together. What a moment for me. What an independent moment for her!! We loved walking together so much that I had to walk with her again once we reached home.

I can't find the words to explain my joy seeing myself walking around the neighborhood with my baby girl - hand in hand. To my left was this little impressive and adorable child with her pink spring trenchcoat and her shoulder-length hair. She was walking as if she'd been walking for 20 years. She closed her eyes and let the cool breeze flow all around her. She looked up at me and said her new word from two weeks ago, "code" (cold). I looked back at her and nodded with a huge smile on my face and the largest lump stuck in my throat. I sang twinkle twinkle little star and she "la-la"-ed along with me as we swung our arms and held hands. "Another milepebble" I thought to myself. I stopped walking and bent down to my daughter's level. I looked in her chocolate brown eyes and whispered "you know babygirl, I will remember this day forever" and hugged her. She looked at me, hugged me, and responded "No."

Milepebbles. Warm, comforting stops we take from our scenic adventure with our children to take a deep breath and appreciate the view.

If I earned a dollar for every milepebble I have, I'd be a billionaire.

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