One Month

It is hard to fathom that, as of 11:55pm tonight, my sweet little dude is already a month old.  Where did the time go?  The whole idea of being a mom is still somewhat surreal, and here it has already been a month since my Erik made my world a much better place.  Actually, he's made a lot of worlds better--first time grandparents (on both sides!), a first-time great-grandfather, aunts (and aunties) and uncles--some for the first time, cousins, extended family, friends... it is incredible to me the love with which this baby is surrounded--and I am so grateful for that.

The other day, someone made a very interesting observation to me.  She said I never complain about having a baby.  I suppose there is a lot I could complain about... I mean, who wants to change stinky diapers and run the risk of being peed on?  Who wants to be sleep deprived (despite Erik being a pretty good sleeper, I'd say it's safe to say my husband and I are pretty well exhausted)?  Who wants to spend all day getting nothing done (okay, maybe some people would like that, but it drives me crazy)?  Who wants to be spit up on?  Who wants to have to recover from pregnancy (and a c-section) while doing all of that?  The list is endless, but I keep coming back to one thing... how on earth can I complain when I have such a perfect, wonderful little man?

I couldn't be happier or more proud.  I didn't think it was possible to fall in love so often, but it is.  I didn't think I could love my husband any more than I did before our child was born, but I do.  I had no idea how much more I would adore and appreciate my momma after becoming a momma myself.  The last month has been such a learning curve--and not really on baby stuff (I was almost 11 when my now 13 year old sister was born, so bottles and diapers and clothing changes were second nature before my little dude was born).  I feel like I have grown significantly as a person.  I feel like my husband has, too.  And I feel like the two of us have grown together in a way we never could have before.  It's quite wonderful.

Erik has grown and changed so much the last few weeks.  He's finally gained enough weight that he doesn't swim in his newborn sized clothes.  He is much more alert and awake for longer periods of time (which means I get to see those beautiful blue eyes!).  He is quite the squirmer--he can scoot all over the place with a lot more proficiency than I'd like for him to at this point.  He's starting to hold his head up for several seconds at a time.  He's a great car traveller, and seems to really like going for walks.  He adores all his family--smiling at them all and knowing who to have "stranger danger" with and who not to already.  He seems to already know how to get me--he will lock eyes with me, cry a little, and stick his little pouty lip out, then smile to himself.  He makes the most adorable sounds, from his cry to his coo to his snorts to his squeaks.  What an amazing, amazing little boy.

I could go crazy posting pictures, but instead I'll just direct you to my Facebook Album for Erik.  I've had to refrain from posting all the pictures I take, I think everyone would get bored of them.  When I take his "one month" picture later today, I'll post that here.