Max is a Year Old!

You guys. This is the most exciting thing ever. My little sweet, rambunctious, happy boy is a full 365 days old. A year, as they say, goes by so fast. I almost forget the harder parts of life with a little bitty infant. I haven’t forgotten the birth though, that’s for sure. 😣

As I reflect back, I mostly remember the times Max fell asleep on my chest as I tried to burp him, how adorable it was when he started kicking and squealing and babbling. It’s been my life’s greatest pleasure to watch him grow and to look back at everything he’s accomplished so far in his first year of life. Overall, Max is so inquisitive, happy, independent, funny, somewhat cunning. Mike and I both feel so incredibly grateful and fortunate to be dealt this life of ours.

Every day Max does something, whether it’s a look, a sly smile, when he scrunches his face in the sun, his one-person dance parties, calling to Bits with his hand (it looks like he’s pretending to snap), and when he goes exploring – plus so much more – that just makes us laugh so hard. Shaking our head with big smiles on our faces – that’s the state you’ll find Mike and I in most often.

I realize that as much as I truly love being a career woman, my real life’s work is making this boy of mine happy. I thoroughly enjoy making his food, having him try new things (he’s such a great eater!), teaching him shapes and sounds and numbers and music, accepting those hugs and kisses, introducing him to the world as I know it. At nearly 24 pounds, it’s not easy to carry him around, but I was making chocolate chip cookies the other day and leaned him over the stand mixer so he could see it moving. I want to open his eyes to all that’s possible and wonderful.

Mike and I like to hold fresh herbs under his nose so he can smell the earth and the different scents. We’ve celebrated his love of that incessant splashing in the bathtub. We’ve seen him learn to use his voice and discover his reflection in mirrors. He grasps the toy phone, hair brush and toothbrush with his chubby hands and makes the correct motion for the object. He throws his head back and laughs when he wants to be tickled and then he continues to play that game for sometimes 15 minutes.

He stacks items and mischievously continues to do whatever he’s doing when we say “no.” (He knows what no means.) He loves to be naked, he’s sometimes pooping in the potty, he likes to roll balls and play with remotes and press so many buttons. He’s learning how puzzles work and has started putting the pieces where they belong with minimal help. He’s a smart, smart boy who deserves all the credit in the world for his accomplishments.

He waves hello, crawls faster than I run, stands up and claps his hands for anything worthy of any sort of praise. Are you cutting up an avocado for him to eat? 👏🏼 Have something new for him to explore? 👏🏼

I took Max to a baby gymnastics class the other week. He wasn’t the best kid there (in fact, he may have been the worst because he was tired and teething and etc – you know how things can go), but he enjoyed rolling the balls, watching the other kids, clapping his hands, using the musical instruments, swinging from the bars and doing a somersault (until he realized what had happened when it was all over). Something we need to work on: navigating the really soft flooring.

Then a week later Max went to a small music class and he loved it! He was clapping his hands, banging on the drum, watching the other little toddlers follow along with the song. He was so happy! We are excited to continue to expose Max to new things.

We’ve also introduced Max to the wide world of swimming. So far he has held his breath under water, and has sat on the top step and splashed around. He’s still wary of the flotation device with sun shade that I bought for him, but we’ll get there.

He’s problem solving and it’s so fun to actually see his thought process make its way across his face. I like to provide hands-off guidance, if that makes sense. If you put blocks in front of him with numbers 1 through 3 on them, he can pick out the correct number you ask for most of the time.

Max loves to cuddle and rest his head on your shoulder. He loves to play peek-a-boo and giggle. We’ve established a new nighttime routine where he finishes his bottle and then lays there looking right at me. He’ll look right into my eyes and touch my face and softly giggle when I do the same back to him. I’ll tickle him just a little bit and point out the parts of the face. “Where’s mama’s nose?” and he’ll softly grab my nose. “Where’s mama’s eyes?” and he’ll poke me in the eye. You know, fun times. We’ll do this for a little bit until his eyelids get droopy and then I’ll put him in his crib without a fuss (most of the time).

I could go on and on about my boy, but I’ll just leave you with this: my life is a blessed one and one I wouldn’t trade for anything. I know that nothing can compare. Max has further confirmed that. It was wedded bliss on July 26, 2013 and it then became this unexplainable, extraordinary bliss on May 10, 2016 that just gets stronger and better. Our life, together, is far greater than anything I have been or will ever be a part of, this I know.