You--45 Weeks, 6 Days

Look at how those week numbers are marching to 52--one year old almost!
I can't believe how this year has flown!
It always does with a new baby, I won't deny that.
But want to know a secret?
I've REALLY enjoyed this first year with you!

With Chas, there was just so much to learn and so much to sift through and so much uncertainty.
It was thrilling beyond belief!
But tiring and scary and stressful, too.

Rhyse was easier because, well...because we'd done it.

Then Greer came along and blew my heart wide open.
A little girl!
I'd always wanted one of those!
And when I got one?
I knew I had to have more.

Creux, poor Creux.
He was just troubled from the start, unsettled and high maintenance and hard to please.
Don't let my honest but strong words mislead you: I don't love a single child more or less than any of the others!
All children and experiences are unique and different and the raw truth there is that some experiences are more enjoyable than others.
Creux's infancy and childhood would not exactly rank at the top of my Fun List, quite frankly.
Trust me that I am not telling you anything I won't tell him!
One of these days, I'm going to watch in glee as Creux's own wayward son torments him with his crazy antics and I will sit back and chuckle and say, "Paybacks, son.  Paybacks are a you-know-what..."

But then there's you.
You wake with a smile and a coo.
You are happy all. day. long.
I am comfortable and confident in my parenting at this point in my life so I'm able to just fully enjoy you without the worry.
I'm excited to see you in the mornings and I miss you at night.
I can't remember what life was like without you in it and it didn't even take a year for that to happen!
Basically, I am just so damn happy to have you to love!!!

You:

--have started saying, "Uh, oh!"  But it's like, "Uh, uh!"  SO CUTE.

--just today started clapping your hands and it took lots of concentration and mimicking on your part but so worth the effort!

--are getting REALLY good standing alone for longer periods of time now.  We catch you every day standing somewhere, not supported by anything but gravity.  And you LOVE it!

--Daddy packed your infant swing away this weekend.  It hasn't been used in ages but it was still there.  Normally I'm good about taking down stuff like that in a timely manner but for some reason, I held on a bit with that swing. 

--you're ten months old but fully into 12-18 month clothing.  The pants might be a little big from time to time but you fit into it all pretty good.

--you've starting spaghetti noodling when you don't want to be held, will arch your back and try to wriggle away from whoever is holding you.  You know how to tell us that you want down.

--you're using the same hand wave for "bye-bye" to mean "all done!"at the table.  Damn, girl, you're smart!

--you're still liking, "No, no, no!" and will spontaneously shake your head at anyone who says it, even if they're saying "know" as in, "I know you're there!"  So someone will say something like that and you shake your head and beam at them like they've just told you that Santa's come back for a second helping of Christmas.  It's fantastically adorable!

--I picked up a onesie for you that says, "I'm kind of a big deal around here" and it's by far my new favorite item of clothing for you because it's all snazzed up and cute--and because it's true!

--you're starting to throw temper tantrums when you don't get your way and I know I shouldn't say this, much less let you know it at the time, but I'm positively charmed by it!  And so is your dad!  You'll be getting into something and I'll remove you from it and you'll want to go back so I'll pick you up again and you'll spaghetti noodle on me and then throw yourself to the ground, wailing, then sit back up and throw yourself down again.  Omg.  Smitten.

--if I ask you if you want milk, you'll give me your attention, looking at me curiously.  If I start making motions to nurse you, fuss with my bra straps under my shirt, you high tail it over to me, whimpering.  And you're highly impatient once you're eating as I switch you from side to side.  It's one of the only time I can count on you crying in day--that 10 seconds of no boob in between the first and second.  Man, your life is rough.

I'm heading up with you, to tip-toe around my bathroom so as not to wake up while I'm getting ready for bed.
You need your own room!
We have fallen so far behind on that--I knew we would once soccer and co-op and all of our spring activities began again after the winter's hibernation.
Your room is going back up on the Home Project list to be completed in the next few months.  It sure would be great to gift you a brand-new bedroom for your first birthday!  You're totally sleeping through the night now at about 10-11 hours so we're good to go, separation-wise.
We just need the time here at home to devote to your sleeping quarter needs and as you'll come to learn, baby, that time is hard to come by!  It's a big deal to be placed at the top of the Home Project around here because that list is long and everything on it is pretty important to someone.

But it's time.
I'm ready, you're ready, and soon your room will be ready, too!

Love,
Mama