Your Twelfth Month - In Review

from the universe you came to me. on this day of birth I see. infinity in your tiny hands. goddess loves my little man.

Hi Nugget,

What an amazing twelfth month we've had, all culminating in a wonderful celebration of your birth! The month started out slow, as we all recovered from Thanksgiving. There were also a few sicknesses being passed around the house that made the beginning of December rather tough. But we made our way back to the healthy side with lots of rest and cuddles, and sometimes both.

 
Then there was Christmas to get ready for! A few days before Christmas, you decided to give us your own little present. You, my dear little nugget, started walking! It was a wobbly first few steps from the coffee table to the bedroom door, but it was awesome seeing your confidence in yourself grow each day as you took more and more steps. By the time your birthday rolled around you were quite the accomplished walker.

Once you started, there was no stopping you. In fact, about 90% of the pictures I took this month are of you always on the move and almost always walking away from the camera. I think my camera captured the back of your head this month more than your pretty little face. 

And now that you have the ability to go wherever at break neck speeds, getting you to hold still for a photo op with mama is darn near impossible!

Well, as you were getting the hang of this whole walking business, Christmas came and went. We spent Christmas eve at Grandpa and Grandma's house and Christmas day at Nana and Papa's. There was lots of good food, presents, wrapping paper to play with, Christmas tree ornaments to tug down and animals to investigate.

Then a few days after Christmas, your sister Burst came home for a visit. You REALLY enjoyed having your sister around. They arrived back from the airport very late at night while you were sleeping. The first morning they were back home, we were at the bottom of the steps and you saw Burst come down the stairs. You were so excited and were all smiles. Then we had our own little family Christmas with everyone. Every day after that, as soon as you woke up in the morning you would walk over to the baby gate near the stairs. You would point up the stairs and say "Ehh?" as if you were saying "Hey, are they up there? They should come down!" and so of course, every morning I had to remind you that Burst and Zippo are teenagers and probably won't wake up until noon at least. But once they were up, you were happy to follow them around all day.

Zippo, Mama, Nugget, Mr. K. and Burst

After Christmas things slowed down for a few days at least. There was even one day when your Auntie spent the night and when you woke in the morning you found a strange bundle of blankets on the couch. You weren't quite sure what to make of that, but you saw a foot in there somewhere. You were quite surprised, but happy, when Auntie emerged from the blankets and wanted to play with you. You both spent a good portion of the morning pointing at things, your new favorite past time.

And then it was time for your birthday. My gosh, one whole year. To say it blows my mind is an understatement. To say you've changed my life is an understatement. To say I love you more than anything is an understatement. You are a small nugget of the divine, universal energy that I have been allowed to hold in my arms for one whole year. You have re-energized all of our lives and brought laughter and joy to our entire family. In what felt like a blink of an eye, you were my one year old. And that called for a celebration.

There were presents.

There was a big brother and a big cousin for you to adore.

There were candles and singing.

 And of course, cake.

 Lots and lots of happy, blueberry cake.

Which you very much enjoyed eating and then later, throwing. Auntie Mo still has blueberry stains on the boots she was wearing. You have good aim. And that, Nugget, was the twelfth month of your first year.

Don't grow up too fast, my lil' nugget.
Love,
Mama