It's Been A Year

On Sunday, Josiah turns one year old.  So many things have changed since this time last year and I was feeling nostalgic as my little man-- who is now weighs in the late 20s-- let me hold him while he slept this morning.  He's much longer and heavier than he was at 18 inches long and just under 5 pounds, but he still prefers my left shoulder when he sleeps and he still strokes my arm as he drifts off.

I recently re-read all of the posts on this blog since the beginning of our journey to Josiah, as well as my journals about his birth and the weeks that followed.  It's so nice to have a collection of my thoughts and written details of the events that have taken place.  It's great to look back at the people who commented on these posts and see how many people were cheering for us.

Exactly a year ago today, I had no idea that in two days I would be a mom--we were supposed to have five more weeks.  I had conveniently done all of the house chores, so I would fall asleep at the normal time in a clean home.  My phone would ring a little after midnight and we would start the journey that would lead to our son.

Josiah is not that little 4 pound, 14 ounce baby we were so excited to meet last January.  He is a chubby, 8 toothed baby who can walk on his own and eats anything you put in front of him.  He is the boy who laughs at almost anything, loves to hang upside down, walks around with two light sabers and can't get enough of his grandma and grandpa.

Most of what I would say about the first year of Josiah's life would be typical to most mothers, though I wouldn't write the horrors of mothering like I read so many of before we brought him home.  Yes, I didn't get as much sleep this year than I have in the past, I have dealt with more poop/pee/snot/bodily fluids than I could've imagined, my kid can SCREAM when he wants to and constantly caring for another human being can be a daunting task at times.  But as most moms know, you adjust.  I changed my schedule to make sure I got the time in that I needed (running and working out aren't options to me), I learned when I needed to step away from the baby, I learned when I needed to tell my husband to watch Josiah so I could go do something away from the house.

And with that, I celebrate a year of successful(ish) motherhood.  A year of realizing just how incredibly selfish I am, of how incredibly amazing he is.  A year of become more and more aware that I would do this again in a heartbeat. 

We look forward to the next year with a quiet anticipation and hope that maybe we can complete our family with another child.  We look forward to Josiah learning to speak, to run and to see his personality form.

Happy New Year, everyone, may 2017 bring you the blessings you need.