CrazyChase

Today is my son's first birthday. What a long year it has been. Reflecting back, I remember when my wife was pregnant a lot of people said that during the first year of the baby's life you just survive it. Now I know what that means. This last year was filled with drama: sleepless nights, emotional meltdowns, feelings of doubt and inadequacy, thoughts of wanting to turn and run, and levels of stress that I had never experienced before. However, there are those little moments that warmed my heart and brought a tear to my eye. Seeing his first smile, hearing the first laugh, hearing the first words, seeing him learn and play, seeing the first time crawling, and watching his personality form and take shape. It balances out the drama and makes me feel that everything will be okay. Now its watching crawl and explore the house, trying to find fun ways to get into trouble. He's also trying to stand up and walk on his own. Its interesting to watch because he wants to do it so badly but his body can't quite support him yet, so he's quick to get frustrated. He's also developed a lot of opinions and its sometimes fun to see his reactions to new items and experiences. Up next is the toddler years, and I've heard that it is the hardest years for both baby and parents. It is still a long journey ahead of us.