In Reality

I remember looking at Jane when she was 11-months-old and thinking, "she is so old."

My mom warned me it wasn't really so, but I would think it was so because I was already 5 months pregnant with my second child by that time.

And I look at Elliot now and think "he is a baby!"

But in reality, we are exactly one month away from the year anniversary of what will likely go down in the annuals of history as the easiest birth ever (seriously, he just fell out. I only pushed twice and the doctor didn't even have time to get both gloves on).

That's right! My love is 11-months-old today.

There are some things that remain the same as they were at his birth.

• He is still a lover. In fact, one of the only ways to get him to stay still is to start kissing on him. Then he remain patiently still and continually offers his check for you to continue kissing.
• Those eyes are still sapphire blue. Granted, they change to slightly more green when he wears darker colors, but they are blue, blue, blue. I'm currently reading a book about a girl to travels alone to find her father and along the way picks up another kid to travel with her. She has dark coloring while the boy has blonde hair and blue eyes and laugh when people look skeptically on them when they try to pass off as brother and sister. It makes me laugh because, in reality, that is my two children.

But some things change.

• He's not quiet anymore. Quite the opposite.
• He is not content to sit still and peaceful. He A.L.W.A.Y.S has to move. A 180 from his sister who happily sat still until she was about 15 months.

Here she is at 11 months sitting contentedly on her 6-year-old cousin's lap. Elliot would flip all over the place and end up with a bruise on his face.

• Elliot must do everything his sister does, which might contribute to the reasons why he is an active baby where she was more chill.
• He moved on to solid foods a lot earlier than his sister simply because he could not bear to be the only one at the table eating something different and having said food spooned to him.

So there it is.

I'm in shock that my baby will be a year in one month. Of course, I already have the year party planned, but that's beside the point.

He's my baby. And I know, from experience, that the minute he turns one there will be an evil e-mail in my inbox from BabyCenter saying "your toddler".

But I reject that. I maintain he is still the same little jaundice baby I brought home.

Yes?