Finally got this up! Sorry it took so long! It's on the longer side, so I hope that makes up for it!

The season 3 finale happened (oh gosh, I cried! It was soooo good, though. I can't wait for the final season!), which means this story is kind of... null and void now, but I do hope you stick around because I'm gonna keep writing it! This chapter gets a little sappy.

Enjoy!

Liv opened the door of her daughter's nursery, only to be greeted by her little girl's smiling face peering at her from just over the white bars of her crib. Her dark eyes were glinting with happiness.

Liv smiled and walked over to her daughter's bed. "Good morning, Charlotte."

"Mama!" Charlotte said happily, lifting her arms.

Liv laughed and obliged, giving the girl a cuddle and a kiss once she was in her arms. Charlotte's laughter tinkled like little bells. It was one of Liv's favorite sounds in the whole world.

"Happy Birthday, Lottie." Liv told the baby in her arms brightly, though she knew the words made little sense to her.

Charlotte was one today. A big day in her life and the lives of her parents as well. She had been born a year ago. It felt like much longer sometimes and not that long ago other times. Charlotte had grown so much. She was talking some and toddling about unsteadily. She had grown hair long enough for ribbons and bows and barrettes. She had nearly outgrown her infant carseat. She was almost done with the last can of formula she would ever need.

Charlotte beamed at her mother's enthusiasm. Liv kissed her again.

"Alright, sweetie. Let's have breakfast before Mommy puts you in your pretty dress, okay?" Getting food out of a purple puppy onesie would be easier than getting it out of a poofy little dress.

Charlotte only stuck her thumb in her mouth and curled against Liv's shoulder. Luv smiled.

"There's the birthday girl!" Holden said enthusiastically as Liv reached the bottom stair, pajama clad baby in her arms.

Charlotte eagerly bounced in Liv's arms and reached out for her daddy, little hands opening and closing expectantly. "Dada!"

Holden and Liv both laughed as he took the baby from her.

"Good morning, Char! Happy birthday, baby girl!" Holden kissed Charlotte on her forehead. She smiled. "Ready for breakfast?"

Charlotte scrunched up her nose happily.

"I take that as a yes, what about you, Mommy?"

"Me too."

Breakfast was pancakes. Holden made the best pancakes. And since it was a special day, he put sprinkles in the pancakes, which they both knew Charlotte would love when she was old enough to realize what was happening.

Charlotte did however like the treat and was even allowed a bit of maple syrup to go with them. It was her birthday. She was allowed.

Liv and Holden were watching her with amusement as they ate. The syrup was making her fingers sticky and a little pout had appeared on her face as she tried to make sense of it. The other hand, however, was the one responsible for transporting pancake pieces from highchair tray to mouth. Both things were happening simultaneously. Babies were hilariously entertaining.

"How are you holding up, Mommy?" Holden asked Liv almost teasingly, setting down his now empty juice glass.

"Better than last year at this time," Liv replied with a smile. Exactly a year ago she had been at the hospital and crying a lot. But it had been so worth it.

She had gotten such a beautiful, amazing little girl after all that pain. A little girl whose smile melted her heart every time she saw it and whose laugh could probably bring world peace if everyone listened. Whose eyes twinkled with love and light before she could say her own name. Whose tiny hands could one day write a novel or a play or a movie and whose tiny feet could walk places her mother had only dreamed about.

It was incredible how much had changed in a year and how much more would continue to change.

She hadn't realized she had gotten misty-eyed until Holden stood from his seat across from her and grabbed her empty plate before swiping his finger under her eye with his free hand and pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Oh, I'm being silly." Liv said as Holden put the dishes in the dishwasher. Crying on her baby's birthday, how ridiculous.

"You're not," Holden assured, coming to stand behind her chair. He rested his hands on her shoulders. "Today's a big day for you too. It marks your first year as a mom."

"And yours as a dad." Liv reminded, tilting her head back to smile at him.

"Best year of my life so far," he replied with a bright smile before leaning down to kiss her.

When Charlotte managed to get her hands stuck together with syrup, they figured breakfast was over.

"Sticky baby," Liv cooed as she wiped Charlotte's extremities with a wet cloth and Holden cleaned the highchair tray.

Liv gently poked Charlotte's tummy when she finished, making the birthday girl giggle. "Lets go get you dressed, baby."

Hours later sitting on the couch in her parent's living room was Liv. Charlotte was on the floor in a pretty pink flowered dress and matching headband along with little white lacy socks and shoes.

Charlotte would be sharing a big birthday party with Riley in a few weeks, but as today was her actual birthday, a small gathering was to be held at her parent's house. Riley would get the same treatment next month.

Maddie, Diggie, and Riley were on their way. Parker was playing with his niece on the floor. Joey and Holden were talking about something. Her mother was in the kitchen with her father finishing up dinner. Since Charlotte's birthday was May fifth, it only seemed appropriate for them to be having tacos.

Liv laughed as Lottie squealed with delight when Parker scooped up to tickle her before pretending to "throw" her to Joey, who tickled her as well.

Liv looked to her phone only for a moment to check to see if her picture had posted. It was a side by side picture, the left was Charlotte's first picture from the hospital a year ago and the right had just been taken a few moments ago.

Liv's fans had stuck around and they loved seeing pictures of Char. They reacted enthusiastically and called her adorable in the comments. This one was no different. Liv's caption, however, was a little longer this time:

My darling little girl,
It's been only a year since we met but I couldn't imagine life with out you. You are my world. My princess. My everything. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. You're growing so quickly, I can't believe it. It seems like yesterday was the day your daddy and I found out you were coming and here you are today, laughing and walking and talking already. Time moves quickly and even though it's scary at times, I can't wait to see the girl you grow up to be. I hope you never loose the light in your eyes.
Happy first birthday, Charlotte Madison. Mommy and Daddy love you so much.

It had posted and Liv set her phone aside to accept her daughter from Holden. Apparently, she had become part of the Birthday Tickle Assembly Line as well.

When Charlotte was out of breath, Liv stopped tickling her. Charlotte curled up against her. "Mama," she murmured around her thumb.

Liv pressed a kiss to Charlotte's curls. "Mama loves you so much."

A/N: I hope you liked the fluff! Next chapter will be Charlotte and Riley's big combined party, so expect some appearances by some other characters. If you have any requests on who you would like to see show up to the birthday party, let me know in the comments! Also, I have a poll up on my profile for this story so check that out too and vote!

Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks for reading!