Reflections on One Year with Baby Grant

It is interesting to reflect on how much my world has changed in one year. One year ago today, at this hour, we were driving back from an exhilarating hike at Raven’s Rock and my belly was contracting and releasing rhythmically. I was so excited: my baby boy was coming! He was born on the date I thought he would be, and his blond hair and brown eyes were as I dreamed, but Grant has brought more joy, more delight, more wonder, more happiness, more sweet quiet moments cuddling and more silly twinkling laughter into my life than I could ever have foreseen or even wished for.

My baby boy is almost 1 year old now. And this one year has been full of change and development. Grant went from having thick dark hair to being bald to having a sweet mop of blond hair that curls at the end. He went from having gray eyes to deep, soulful walnut-brown eyes. He now has three teeth – one full one on the bottom, two half teeth on the top. He can walk 10+ steps on his own and pushes his cart, tricycle and boxes everywhere with laughing abandon. He says mama, dada, dog, cat, clock and sometimes bird. He points and wants us to bring him to the fruit basket, to the window to watch the birds and demands, sweetly, that we name everything. My little boy loves to laugh and his smile makes my day perfect. He has amazing concentration and loves being read to; his favorite books include Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Our little one waves, points and can even turn screws with his neon green screwdriver. He loves to watch the blocks fall down, and he listens intently to the sounds of Henry the lovebird and the dogs, then he tells us what he hears.

I spend nearly everyday with my sweet boy. I love to smell his sweet baby scent, when he is warm and sleeping on my chest. I love Thursday afternoons at the butterfly house where he points to the butterflies and call them “bubuh.” I enjoy nature hikes together in the woods by the house. His enthusiasm is contagious, his intelligence sparkling; he is friendly and sweet. Sometimes when baby Grant is very tired, he simply puts his head to the floor, but then he springs up fighting sleep valiantly. He nurses sweetly, looking into my eyes, laying his hand on me, his little legs almost always wiggling.

He has changed so much in a year, and I imagine, so have I. Grant is evolving so quickly. On one hand, I relish these changes and can’t wait to see what will happen next. On the other hand, I want to hold on to my teeny little baby and never let him go.

I love Grant so much it can be painful. I him completely, achingly. I love you dear, sweet boy, so much.