The First Year

About this time one year ago my parents and sister were leaving our hospital room, Rob was settling in on the couch "bed", and I was pulling the bassinet as close to the hospital bed as I could get it.  Of course, that wasn't close enough, and sweet baby Jack transitioned to my arms a few minutes later, spending the rest of the night there.  I didn't get much sleep that night, but it was because I was so over-the-moon, completely in love with this new little creature who had burst into our lives. 

A year later, I still haven't gotten much sleep, and I am still totally in love with our son.  Parenthood has been an interesting journey for us so far.  I feel like I was already somewhat familiar with the nuts and bolts of parenting by virtue of having so many friends walk this road before us.  What I have been surprised by is the sheer joy of it all.  Really.  It has absolutely been exhausting and frustrating and so difficult at times, but more than anything I am in awe at what a tremendous blessing Jack has been to our lives.  I love this Elizabeth Stone quote:

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

And this week, as I've pondered my baby turning one, I've thought my heart might just explode.  I'm proud of the first year we've enjoyed together; I'm more thankful than I could have ever imagined for our little family; I'm quite intimidated by the wisdom that we will surely need in the future to parent this little boy; and I am already grieving the passing of this season and those that are to come. 

I'll make the effort to haul myself away from these late-night musings on the past and the future to capture a moment of the sweet now, the first birthday of my boy. 

Jack is at such a fun age.  He loves to be silly, to play games, to mimic us.  He loves to dance and loves to explore.  He adores Molly and loves to shower her with attention and affection- both verbal and (very) physical.  Still nothing can make him laugh or snap him out of a bad mood like seeing his beloved puppy. 

Jack is pulling up on everything.  He is becoming an adept cruiser, but he seems not to be in a hurry to walk anywhere.  He may surprise us soon, though.  I continue to find myself amazed at the changes a week can bring.  The little booger is also a destroyer.  Quite a few spots in our house are temporarily vacant- not pretty, but it is either that or put everything back in its place a hundred times a day.  Exhibit A (our recycling, which Jack empties for us every chance he gets):

Jack is a pretty good napper during the day.  Usually he has two naps that last anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours.  Nighttime has been a bit more touch and go with all of our travel, and he is currently still getting up once and sometimes twice (twice!) a night to eat.  Life should be calmer the next couple of months, and we are hoping to make some serious headway in this area.  Momma is tired. 

Anything he lacks in the sleep department, he more than makes up for when it comes to eating.  Right now Jack is a great eater and has enjoyed almost all the healthy foods we've put in front of him.  And he really enjoyed the not-quite-so-healthy carrot cake birthday cupcake he was treated with tonight.  As in, he put the whole entire thing away- quickly. 

Jack is more and more interactive.  He chatters with us, the dog, and his toys all the time, though I haven't managed to pick out any words yet.  He loves to wave, blow kisses, clap, and stomp, and he is trying oh so hard to snap and whistle.  Those might take a bit longer. 

Jack is still growing, though his pace seems to have slowed considerably.  He has his eight front teeth and is already working on his first set of molars, which I just think is completely ridiculous.  My little baby shouldn't have molars, yet, right? 

He loves his momma and daddy, and he definitely has a preference for us, but he remains a fairly laid-back baby when it comes to being away from us.  He makes me laugh because he is not very generous with his smiles when strangers approach him when we are out, but I suppose there are worse things.  At least he is generous with us.

Jack, we could not be any happier to be your momma and daddy.  You have enriched our lives beyond what we ever hoped for, and we thank God for the blessing of you in our lives every day.  You bring so much joy and laughter to our house.  We have cherished this first year together, just as we will cherish those to come.  We pray that you will know how much we love you and how much God loves you.  Thank you for being you, little man.