Now that we’ve had a bit of time to sleep, we wish everyone a happy new year and hope that it is a prosperous and happy year for you and your family.
Looking back, it’s been a year of great change starting with Nicholas pretty much finding his stride and we’ve been run ragged ever since. He has grown so much over the year that it’s almost scary…you honestly don’t know what you’re going to see from him from day to day and that makes it pretty exciting if not a bit nerve wracking. You blink and you’ve missed something amazing. Here is someone who went from crawling everywhere he wanted to go to now running and loving being chased from place to place. Here is someone whose only words sounded suspiciously like crying or laughing and now we have a kid who can identify a truck versus a car and picks some really complicated words to use. No, no simple ones for our little Brainiac there. Mind you, I’m thinking the moon is actually the moon as opposed to a basketball. But that’s the quintessential Nicholas…as stubborn an overachiever as there ever was. And of course, he’s decided that he wants to start the Terrible Twos a bit early.
But through all of that, he is growing by leaps and bounds and the trick is going to be trying to stay one step ahead of him when he has so much more energy these days than we do. And occasionally enjoy the times we can sit back and watch him grow before our eyes and accomplish new things.
One of his latest things (and he pretty much started it on his own) is that after his bath, he will carry his clothes to his hamper and dump them in there for washing. Of course, there is the obligatory self- congratulatory clapping and the requisite “yay Nicholas!” (and let me tell you, he can be awfully pleased with himself!). He just knew what to do and he’s done it consistently.
Every day we find yet another reason to love him and be so proud of him. The trick is going to be maintaining that when he figures out that he is no longer the only child but I’m sure that he will be a caring and loving big brother. It may take some time and adjustment but I have no doubts that he will do it.
After all, he surprises me every day with a smile here or a hug and kiss there or a bit of cuddle time with a bedtime story. Just out of the blue and it’s as genuine as it gets.
I don’t know what he’ll do tomorrow but I can tell you with absolute certainty that there will be at least one (if not more) moment where he will just surprise and amaze you and that makes it worth it to wake up to be there when he does it. And to be honest, I’d crawl over broken glass for miles just to see that smile and hear that laugh again. Every time I do, the student becomes the teacher and I’ve learned so much from him these past couple of years.
I just don’t think it’s possible to hang out with the little guy and not be irrevocably changed as a result. For that, my little buddy, I love you more than you’ll know.