365 days ago, we were snuggling an unnamed baby in the hospital and on Monday, that little baby turned ONE!
True to form, Josh celebrated his birthday with a sick day. That's 4 months in a row that he's been sick enough to call the doctor on the 24th or 25th of the month - strange! Our chats with the doctor deserve their own post, but for now, we'd like to celebrate 365 days with this tiny bundle of happiness.
Josh is a joyous little guy. He's such a blessing to our family. Josh is quick to laugh and is starting to exhibit his own little forms of humor. He thinks it's hilarious to give you a coy smile and then take off crawling in the other direction. He has a "happy dance" involving vigorous shakes of the head and hands and an inhaling squeal/honk that sends us all into giggles.
Josh is cruising furniture and starting to climb into boxes, up the stairs, over obstacles. He also likes to roll and chase balls down the hallway. But his true love continues to be stick shaped objects - spatulas, spoons, maracas, drumsticks.
Eating is still a challenge - I'm hard pressed to select some favorite foods, but Josh will eat repeated bites of crackers, canned peaches, and yogurt. He is still nursing pretty regularly, including once or twice at night and early morning, but if he has a full belly, he'll sleep in until 7AM, which seems like a treat (you know you're a parent when...)
Josh has fully entered "destructor mode" - tearing apart anything he can get his hands on... and there's not much he can't get his hands on these days. The pantry, the toilet paper, Owen's toys, folded clothes, our shoe/jacket bins, bookshelves, the dog food, and the cat litter box (ew, ew, ew) have all been targets of his joyful wrath in the last two weeks.
It has not been an easy year, but one in which every challenge and milestone has been 100% worth it to get us to this point. It is sooooo true that when parenting, the days are long, but the years are short. I can't really remember what our family FELT like without Josh - how did we fill those spaces that are so obviously intended for him? How will his personality evolve, enrich, challenge, and entertain our family? Only time will tell. Our old pastor in Seattle used to remind parents that our children are not ours to posses - God is just loaning them to us and entrusting us to raise them. It's an awesome responsibility, and we are privileged to have been selected to shepherd Josh and have a front row seat in watching the person he is growing into.
Here's the past year in monthly photos. Happy FIRST Birthday Joshua Todd!
I love seeing the brother connection between these two boys. Owen is just as excited as Scott and I when Josh learns a new skill. When Josh was learning to crawl, Owen would get down on his hands and knees next to Josh and say, "Come on Josh. Chase me. Ready, set, go!" When Josh took his first steps, Owen snuggled up next to him, and in the cutest baby voice said, "Good job Josh. You did WALKING. You want try it again?" I hope that my boys will encourage each other and share in the joy when the other succeeds.
