I guess its time for a "Toddler Tracker"

Peapod Tracker....This is what we called the tracker that counted down the days until Jack arrived on our original website, StorkHopefuls. Then, once Jack was born, we changed it to be a tracker until his first birthday. And, for the past 11 months, 3 weeks and 3 days its been doing exactly that...counting down the days until our little baby turned the big "1." I cannot believe that day is now less than a week away. Yes, our infant all of the sudden turns into a toddler next Monday. So, it'll be time to create a new tracker...one that counts down the days until he turns 2.

But for a second...just a moment I want to freeze time and take it all in. I don't want to forget this first year. For the past 359 days we've seen this little being's personality just explode into such a fun character. It happened so fast. In the past year, he went from glazed stares to kind, endearing glances; looks that just melt your heart. He went from trying to hold his head up to having these strong muscles that allow him to move so quickly around. And we know walking isn't too far away. When he was first born, it was so hard to determine why he was crying. Now, we can decipher what different cries mean and although he's just beginning to form words, he's able to communicate and comprehend so much. He went from a complete liquid diet to feeding himself "cakey-pans," which is what we call his favorite food, pancakes.

I remember all the fuss we made about the first time he held his head up, or the first time he rolled over. And then all of a sudden, he was sitting, then up on all fours, then crawling, then climbing, and now creeping along different pieces of furniture. Just yesterday, he stood on his own without holding on to anything for a bit. Its just amazing.

And it wasn't just Jack who grew so much this year. Mike and I went from being completely inexperienced parents to feeling rather confident in our new roles as Jack. Having a little person who is 100% reliant on you for everything is an incredible experience. At times, its scary because you don't want to do anything to mess up this special gift. But mostly, its a joy-filled process filled with wonder. As Jack learns new things for the first time, we re-learn how to appreciate all the little wonders of everyday life.