First birthdays

I cannot believe that in less then a week Baby will turn 1. I can recall the days leading up to his birth. Baby was born on a Wednesday. The weekend before we took Junior to our favorite breakfast place. Knowing our typical routine I can confidentially say that Daddy ate Eggs Benedict without the bacon/ham, Junior ate pancakes, and Mommy had an egg and bacon sandwich with homefries. I know that we spent the weekend just relaxing and enjoying Junior as much as we could before his little brother was here. The night before Baby's arrival we made homemade pizzas. All three of us were covered in flour and pizza dough, as were the counters and kitchen floor. But it was well worth the mess as it's a memory that I'll never forget. A year later it still brings a smile to my face.

This year hasn't been easy for any of us. As much joy as Baby has brought to our lives, he's also brought a lot of sleepless nights and tears and frustration. As a newborn he hated sleeping in his bassinet. He preferred my bed and would only sleep if he was cuddled up next to me. This made nursing quite convenient, but it meant that poor Daddy spent a majority of those 6 months sleeping on the sofa. Once we moved into a house and no longer had to worry about downstairs neighbors hearing the cries of an infant, we allowed Baby to cry it out in his crib. We've definitely had our ups and downs with that. But overall we've made progress and *most nights* Baby will sleep from 8:00pm until 5:30am.

This year has brought me so many happy memories. Memories that can still bring tears to my eyes. One of the best mornings occurred about 2 weeks ago. Baby has been trying so hard to say his big brother's name. He says the first syllable of his name and we've all started to call him by that now. I was lying in bed with Baby. It was one of the nights when he decided to start his day at 3:00am. Junior woke up around 7:30am and came to join us for some snuggle time before we started our day. Baby's whole face lit up when he saw his big brother. He started calling for him, "A, A, A." And then he said "hug." He gave his brother a big hug and a big kiss. Junior was so happy and said to him, "you love me a lot don't ya buddy. Well I love you too. You're my best buddy."

Best. Memory. Ever!!!