Elias: one month from one year

Wow. Today is January 22. One month from today - February 22 - my sweet baby Elias will be one year old.

Whenever the thought crosses my mind, a pout forms on my lips without my even realizing it. How is my baby almost no longer a baby?

Wild Thing, formerly known as Easy E, loves life. Every minute of it. At all minutes of the day and night.

He grins and grins. And scrunches that nose while he grins. He flashes his dimples and his teeth when he sees me. He snuggles into my chest when he sees someone new approaching us. And beyond that, my 11-month-old isn't really into snuggling anymore.

We are still nursing. And I love it. It's our only quiet time together really. And even then, he's constantly on alert to what totallyawesomething might just be going on around us.

He's into tearing up my cabinets, slamming baby gates, pulling down toys and collapsing tents.

The kid crawls in fast forward speed mode all the time. You know the sound of toddler feet? That's it except it's E's bruised knees barreling across the hardwoods. 

E really likes light sockets and power cords. And lamps. And food. Whew, he loves to eat. Mostly those yogurt sweet melt things. Not so much Cheerios or fruit, unless he's in the mood.

He plays with his brother. Will tackle and crawl over top of him. Hangs out wherever he is. Starts tremoring when he can't have his way or gets really excited about something. It's kind of adorable.

Each day he's less baby and more toddler. He's less crawl and more standing. Less snuggle and more explore. Less quiet and really, really, really more talkative. 

He loves to mimic our sounds. He can say Mommmmommm, Dada, Nininini, weeeeee, uh (pause) oh (very dramatic at that), bye bye and a halfway recognizeable thank you.


So, today, one month from one year I'm sending out a handful of thank you's.

To Elias for being a downright darn good, sweet, wild, happy baby and bringing so much momma joy to my heart.

To Asher for becoming an even more patient and wise brother than I thought possible for a two-year-old.

To my husband for being our rock, our accountant (yes, that's important!), designated bather and overall super fun dad.

To my sister for raising my boys with as much love as anyone possibly can and putting up with my antics.

To my mom for checking in on my sleep each morning and letting me gripe about ridiculous stuff all the time.

And to God, for the gift of my Elias. My Asher. And our little family.

Let the next month countdown to one begin. Cue the tears and extra late night rockings and snuggles and kisses and pictures and all that stuff that mommas do before their babies become not-so-baby.

Happy 11 months sweet E!


Photos: Liz Cooper Photography