Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

How does one adequately describe the journey of the first year of your child's life to someone who isn't a parent? As today marks a year since we welcomed our son into our lives, I am not really sure how to answer that question. If you are a mom, you probably understand the emotional roller coaster, the exhaustion, the amazing growth and developmental strides that are all part of the first year. Before I had my own child, there were pieces that I could understand better than others. For instance, you can't help but be amazed by the way a child develops in the first year. However, until now, I did not understand how emotionally and physically spent you could be, feeling that you quite possibly could be at the end of your rope, yet still be incredibly happy at the same time. And how is it that the first few months seemed like an eternity, never sleeping for more than a few hours at a time, and yet the first year has flown by? I can't believe that my baby is turning a year old today!

What a tremendous journey this year has been for us as a family and for me as a new mom. There have been struggles that I was not prepared to encounter. For instance, I remember (and have been reminded by others) being in tears the morning of the 19th after finding out at a doctor's appointment that he was turned breach and that I was essentially guaranteed a c-section delivery. It was NOT THE PLAN!! I got over it and realize how fortunate I am that the doctor caught it before we had reached emergency stage and that I live in a time and place where we were both safe from harm and I could still experience his birth with full consciousness. After struggling for close to 5 months, I again was in tears when I made the decision to formula feed my baby. Once again, it was NOT THE PLAN, but once again I got over it and am thankful that there is an alternative and that I have a strong, healthy boy because of it. I guess you could say that I have learned a bit about priorities and what is most important as a mom...it is that I have a little boy who wins me over each and every day with his smile and who looks to me for comfort when he is hurt; it is not about whether or not my plan played out perfectly.

It has been a joy to be at home with Ethan this past year and to see him grow and develop. While he is proving himself to be a strong willed child (not sure where he gets that from), he is so funny and makes me laugh every day, sometimes when I shouldn't. He LOVES making funny noises (I am sure he gets that from his daddy) and often cracks himself up. He isn't completely walking on his own yet even though he has taken steps on his own and he can stand up unassisted. I am sure it will only be a matter of days, and then we will be off and running. I am looking forward to what the next year holds in store for us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET BOY!

We will be celebrating with our families on Saturday, so I will post more pictures at a later date. His one year check up is not until the 28th, so I will have his growth stats later as well.