1) Jake's 1st birthday. As I held him tonight I spent an extra few minutes reminiscing on the past 365 days! I catch myself telling others now to try and "soak it all in"; try and soak up even the small things, like the way they smell or that first smile, and tuckthem awayto pull out when you needan added reasonto smile! There is something about the 2nd child that allows you the opportunity to do just that...soak it all in. Of course I can't remember every detail but I can proudly say that being more relaxed with Jake allowed me to cherish the small things. I guess it is the comfort in knowing that you are not going to break them! This allows you the freedom to actually enjoy all that comes with the 1st year.
Jake has brought us so much joy. Yes, his laugh is one that could compete with any You Tube video out there for "best laugh"; but when I think of joy, I think of it on a whole otherlevel...true contentment, satisfaction, fulfillment. He has taught us all so much and to that we celebrate today, March 22nd, 2011.
2) We also took a moment today to celebrate Kate's 1 year anniversary of being a big sister. We could not have made it through these past 365 days without her love, patience, and helping hand. We often wondered during the 10 months of pregnancy how she was going to adapt to sharing our attention and to say that she exceeded our expectations is an understatement. Her teacher stopped me today in the hallway to say that there has not been one day go by that Kate has not asked one of the teachers how Jake was doing in his class. She is proud of her little brother and is often more excited about his accomplishments than we are. I guess this helps explain how we were able to so thoroughly enjoy the past year.
