Erin Napier is marveling at how time flies.
The HGTV star celebrated daughter Helen’s birthday with a sweet tribute on Instagram that features a series of rare pictures of Helen as a baby.
“5 years with our Helen girl. The one who made me conquer my fear of childbirth, who made us mama and daddy,” she captioned the post.
“Maybe the hardest part of being a parent is the letting go of who they are at the end of each day. They change and grow in tiny fragments daily, becoming someone new, knowing more than they did, while we were just getting to know the person they were yesterday. I can’t wait to see what this year gives her.”
Napier and her “Home Town” co-host husband, Ben, recently celebrated their 14th anniversary and are also parents to daughter Mae, 1.
Napier has been pensive about how quickly Helen is growing up. In August, she shared a photo on Instagram of her radio playing Sarah McLachlan’s ballad “I Will Remember You” while getting ready for Helen starting preschool.
“Just sitting in the car getting weepy because this was played constantly at events when I graduated high school and Helen is starting school this week and time is flying and I will remember you baby Helen,” Napier captioned the post. “(all the other mamas sending your infants to school this year please holler at me).”
Napier has also been open about how she and Ben were nervous about becoming the parents of two kids, but says it was all for naught.
“We went through a period of grieving before Mae was born,” she told TODAY Parents in March 2022. “I was just grieving our time as a family of three and thinking, ‘It will never be like this again.’”
“All of our worries were unfounded,” she added. “It feels like Mae was always there.”