Happy Birthday, Haydon!

Well.  Life got the best of me in terms of the 12 Days of Haydon.  

I assure you, he did live past July.  And we did take pictures.  And it was wonderful.

It's been interesting to re-live in my mind the events of a year ago.  We were told our baby had some signs of distress in-utero.  Despite being deeply committed to a home birth, under the direction of a midwife and obgyn we decided to induce labour, fearful that there may have been something wrong with our baby.  14 hours later, we were blessed with one of the healthiest, happiest children I've ever met.
(More about that here)  

Last night, after he fell asleep, I snuggled him extra long, tears in my eyes as I considered the outcome of the labour I was in a year ago at that time.  The juxtaposition of those fears - some ultrasound indicators that could have meant Downs Syndrome, lack of movement, poor muscle tone - with the glorious and problem-free year we've had overwhelmed me, reminding me of just how blessed we are.

Here's a month-by-month of our boy, from birth to today.

moments after birth

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December - taken 2 weeks shy of his first birthday.

At one, Haydon is a pure delight. 

 He's one of the happiest kids I've ever met.  He babbles, and laughs and "sings" at times. 

 He is walking (almost running at times),and  has 4 teeth.  

He loves to eat bananas, grapes, avocado, cheerios, and rice cakes.  He points and says "MMM! MMM!" when he sees his favourite foods.

Haydon loves to hug.  When I come home at the end of the day he buries his face in my shoulder and pats my back.  He also does this with stuffed animals and dolls (he LOVES!) dolls.

Haydon loves music - he knows which of his toys make music, and will repeatedly press the buttons so that he has something to dance to. Last week, he went crazy for an animated video of  "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", laughing, squealing and bopping up and down.

Haydon loves books (his mother's son!).  He will often go to his shelf and pull some down, then sit in a pile of books and flip through them.

Haydon loves electronics (his father's son!).  He loves the phone, or a remote control.  He will pick either up, hold it to his ear, and say "Da!" into it, then giggle and pass it to you.  He points remotes at TVs and presses the button.  He would spend all day playing with my iPhone if I let him.

Haydon-baby, we love you so much.  

I can't even imagine how much fun we'll have in the next year as you continue to learn and grow and develop your personality!

It's a privilege to be your Mom!