One Whole Year

Well, today's the day.  The little man is one year old - no longer a baby, now a toddler.  He's had his first taste of cake (thought it was pretty tasty, but wasn't overwhelmingly enthusiastic), and soon he'll be walking.  

On my "mommy boards" someone asked what our goal would be with regards to our little ones during this next year.  So many things came to mind - how I want to make sure he is exposed to a variety of foods in a welcoming and non judgemental atmosphere so he can learn good eating habits, how I want to take pictures of him every week because he changes so quickly, how I want to make sure he sees his grandparents and aunt and uncles often...  But here's what I settled on:

To remember when I interact with him that he is a person, albeit a short one that doesn't speak very clearly, and to show him respect and not try to force him to do things just because I'm bigger and in a hurry.

I think that will be a tough one, but worth it.

A many splendored thing...

As we approach the one year mark of JJ's arrival, I have to step back and take a look at all the truly amazing things that this tiny human has achieved in such a very short time.  He's gone from being a bobble head baby that asked for everything by crying piteously to a lightening fast crawler-almost-walker  that points at the yogurt on the table to let me know that's what he wants next.  He's gone from looking at books as something vaguely interesting, to being something rather tasty, to being something he selects and asks to be read to him.  And best of all, he's gone from not being able to express much more than a need for food or potty or sleep, to being able express his absolute delight and pleasure at learning a new skill, playing hide and seek, or seeing his parents come through the door.  His laugh has developed from a few chuckles to a full faced smile and belly shaking laugh that sometimes takes his breath away. 

And how have we changed?  We went from being able to do almost anything (go to the movies, go out to dinner, got to sleep...) at the drop of a hat, to needing to plan our every move.  We learned that feeding another whole person isn't as easy as it sounds, especially when they can't speak English.  We learned that a lot of baby advice in books and magazines isn't worth the paper it's printed on and that every child is different. We learned that the greatest stress of having a baby during the first year is the myriad of tiny decisions that have to be made every minute of every day.  We found a love more profound than anything we'd experienced before, a joy in watching our little man grow and learn, and a satisfaction in helping him thrive.