Mr Man, just last week you turned one year old. I'm still amazed at just how fast this year has passed us by. It's cliche to say it, but it seems like just yesterday that you completed our little family. This last year has been a test of my patience and mental stability while at the same time one of the most emotionally fulfilling twelve months of my life.
From the very beginning you have been adored by your older sister. She loved you from the second she laid her eyes on you and is always the first to hear you stir awake and will drop whatever it is she is doing to race to be the first next to your bed to cheer you as you are still waking. Sometimes if I don't make it in there fast enough she has already hoisted herself over the railing and is inside your crib attempting to smother you with hugs and kisses or attempt to help you sit and stand. You greet her with the same love and affection and I'm positive there is no one you would rather see upon opening your eyes. Mom and dad fall a close second, but big sister is the one who can make your eyes light up and get you to squeal with delight.
At a year you still aren't crawling in a conventional way, but we are convinced this is a step you are going to skip. Even without the traditional crawl you manage to get everywhere you need to be, sometimes in record time. You use your bottom to scoot around, tucking one leg behind you and pushing off with a hand. You get frustrated when you aren't willing to let go of a toy to achieve optimal scooting speed and get frustrated when you have to choose between staying where you are with a toy and giving it up to scoot around. Just this last week you have started pulling yourself up onto things and seem to be enjoying your new upright view of the world. I'm sure you will be walking soon as you seem to think you can just let go of things and let your will power lead the way, you get frustrated when your feet have other ideas and you fall to the ground. It won't be long little man, no need to rush it.
Your first words were mama and dad followed closely by ball and dog. Oh, and do you love your dog. He's probably a good five times your size and shows such extreme patience when all you want to do is crawl up on his bed and bang on him. You aren't the softest at petting him but he does love any affection he can get so he stays as still as he can while you share your love in the only way you know how. When you get excited to see him he'll walk over to you and put his head down to your level and let you "pet" him. It seems that the two of you are going to be good pals.
I've taken pictures of you every single day since the day you were born. I'm sure there will come a day, like your big sister, that you do not want me to, but I feel happy that somehow I've captured moments in time that will fade in memory. There are times where I'm sitting with you all snuggled up in my arms, your head resting on my chest, your hand tucked into the collar of my shirt and reaching for my breasts, always a sign you are sleepy, where I tell myself to remember this exact moment forever. The smell of your hair, the feel of your soft warm skin, how your body seems to fit so well into my arms, the sound of your quiet sleepy breathing, it is something I want to remember forever, it's what I miss when I have to leave you all day to be at work, and it's hard. Somehow I feel like documenting what moments I can will keep you young forever. I hope that when you are older it is something you will enjoy as much as I have.
Happy Birthday Little Man
Love, Mama
