This past year has been a wild ride. It has gone by faster than any time in my entire life and it shows no signs of slowing down, neither do you. It's hard to imagine that 12 months have already passed since I went into labor. Daddy still teases me for all the chores I did before I would go to the hospital. I know that all that work helped you get here faster and we got to spend more time with you once you were home because there were no chores to bug us, not that we would have let them.
You started out very colicky and it was rough for all of us those 1st three weeks, but nothing compared to your recent virus that kept us up all night worrying about you and trying to help you sleep. Thankfully you are strong and healthy again, just in time for your birthday. As a newborn you had an ear infection at just a couple weeks old and it broke our hearts, we also struggled through other illnesses together those first few months but we've made it out stronger.
You progressed through life so quickly, doing everything early. You even gained weight by your 2-day appointment (when most babies are still working to get back to birth weight by 2 weeks). You sat up, crawled, and walked earlier than most. I think you were trying to catch up to your big brother.
You and your brother Malakai have grown into such special friends. Before you were born he was jealous of any other baby or child that I held. The day you were born and he met you, all that changed and then he wouldn't let anyone hold you but me. You were "mama's baby". He was protective of you until you learned to crawl, then he realized you were a playmate and the wrestling began. It has only recently become a two-sided affair. Still, the two of you love to chase each other and dance together, although you can be found dancing at even the hint of music, it takes a bit more to get your brother to join in these days.
Your look has changed quite a bit since you were born and it seems you've slowly morphed into looking like your daddy and brother. Mama finds you all to be so handsome that she's perfectly fine with losing her "look alike".
Lately you are repeating words and sounds and pointing at what or who you want. Pointing at noses and saying "nuh" or things you get excited about like dogs and saying "whoah!". You also seem to be experiencing a tad of separation anxiety as you always want me to be nearby. Thankfully it hasn't inhibited you enough to keep you from enjoying yourself in the church nursery where you play hard and have won the hearts of many volunteers.
You are very stubborn and grunt when you want something that is being taken or blocked. Like when you insist on climbing inside the lid drawer and someone tries to take you back out again. We've decided that you enjoy being "containerized". You love to "read" the Elmo Peek-a-Boo book that you got last Christmas and play with blocks or your shaker eggs.
Our little family is so much better because you are in it. We can't wait to see what the years ahead bring for you.
{traditional birthday breakfast at OPH}
Happy 1st Birthday Desmond Lee!
Love, Mama
