1 Year

Has it really been a year? Everyone says time flies, and it has in its own way, but the last 12 months seems as distant as any other 12-month stretch in my life. So many days held their own individual uniqueness, their own identity as a major episode. There are few days that just generically blend in with a bunch of others. 365 days, and there are so many of them that had their own distinctive characteristics, like various acts in a long play.
We will measure him later today and see what the official 1-year damage is. But, stats aside, the growth you can do with your eyes. His walking is evolving into a form of running - sort of like an old man's gallop after drinking too much bourbon. He not only stands, but now reaches to the countertops and attempts a crude form of a chin-up in an attempt to grab anything on the counter or high tabletop. But, most hours of the day you'll see him walk around the house - with one of the quirkiest, happiest dispositions you've ever seen in a 1-year-old. He does this thing now where he sways his arms and slaps them on his sides as he walks. It's like he's on the most pleasant stroll of an oceanfront boardwalk, and he gets happy arms just flapping all around him. I have to get this on video if you can't see it in person. Kole now not only can open the lid to the trashcan, but can reach in and grab its contents ... (sigh) ... and yes, put them in his mouth. So, to go along with his hobo run, he's now practicing eating garbage, just in case his parenting goes south and he has to go homeless.
A year ago we were wondering if he was going to be a cholic baby. He had more than his fair share of crying - and there's no bigger snapshot of his early infanthood than the first night we had him home and he literally cried all night long. He finally went to sleep when I put him on top of my bare chest. Now, we plop him in his crib at around 8:30 each night, he sits up and watches this little "TV" (actually a little monitor with a bunch of flashing lights and animals), and he quietly entertains himself with that until he's ready to flop over and just fall asleep.
There's no way of picking my favorite moment of the past year. It was cool when we were alone in the house and I had the camera rolling when he pulled himself up on my leg, I stepped away, then he took his first unassisted steps. Everything more recent seems more memorable and stands out in its own way because his personality is more evolved and he's so much more engaged in everything, so it's almost unfair to separate those from his more quiet infant days. But, I can probably group together one favorite moment, and that is the morning. When he wakes up and has that goofy just-woke-up gaze, bed-hair and bed-head, then it's like it all comes together and makes sense in his mind ... Hey, you're that guy again! And there's that good looking lady again. This day's already off to a GREAT start! Then the smiles and laughs begin. Each day ends with its own level of concern, prayer, the weight of the world on our shoulders ... but each day begins with the most pleasant reminder of what Job #1 is for the day.
There have been some diaper rashes, some runny noses and sneezes, but he has remained very healthy the last year. Every day is a prayer answered.