Friday, August 21, 2009

That first year

You turned one yesterday. I'm fairly certain you didn't even know it. We had a small gathering at your house. All your grandparents, both your uncles and your Mom and Dad were there. You looked around at everyone, as if you couldn't believe we were all in the same place at one time. You have another party on Saturday. It's a big week for you.

Oh to be like you and have no sense of the time passing. When you wake up, you look around for a couple of minutes then a smile breaks across your face. It's as if you're thinking, "Alright! Time to play some more!" I can't figure out if every day is a new day for you, or if every day is just a continuation of one long play party occasionally interrupted by naps and eating.

You're the happiest baby I've ever been around. Sometimes I lift you high above my head, lower you down quickly, then lift you up again. Over and over. This seems to be one of your favorite things right now. Your mouth is wide open and it looks like you want to laugh, but the sensation of rising and falling is just too much and you can't stand it. When I finally stop and hold you still, you let out a giggle. It's the most wonderful sound I've ever heard.

Sometimes as you're laughing or playing or otherwise entertaining us, I'll look over at your mother as she watches you. I've known her for twenty-eight years, yet there is a look on her face, a gleam in her eyes, an utter joy to her being that I have never seen before. We are all in love with you.

Just because you're happy doesn't mean you don't have some adorable little intricacies. Your mother claims that you pull all the toilet paper off the roll when she isn't looking, but I find that hard to believe. She also says you've dropped three remotes into the toilet. I say, at least you're consistent and they always know where to find them.

When I think that it has been a year since you arrived, it blows my mind. I thought the time went fast before, but this year has gone at near light speed.

Just the other day, you were crawling. Well, you sort of scooted at first. Then crawled. Then held onto our hands as you learned to walk. You were walking before you were eleven months old. I am thankful every day that you are healthy and seem to be growing and learning as you should.

You've gone from falling asleep in my arms to walking up to me, tugging on my pants and lifting your arms so that I will pick you up--which by the way is my current favorite thing.

And while I know you probably won't remember anything about it, I will never forget that first year.



"Thank God for kids, there's magic for awhile. A special kind of sunshine in a smile. Did you ever stop to think or wonder why the nearest thing to heaven is a child?"

22 comments:

  1. he is just adorable! YOU are such a sweetheart! xox
    Once kids come into the family.. years DO have a tendency to fly by even faster!

    happy happy first birthday!

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  2. Sweet post, sweet kid, sweet uncle. And I love the "uncle bloggers" tag...

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  3. That was a very sweet post Bone! Good thing you have these posts all tagged so you can share them with nephewBone when he is older and you've taught him to read.

    I know that he is always going to luv his favorite uncle.

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  4. I learn from you not to fear being sentimental. And really when I read this most beautiful ode to Nephew Bone, it's not the writing that's sentimental. Just the subject matter

    I love the part about your sister the most because you're looking at her through such different lenses. And you trying to understand what NB knows about time
    It's all beautiful
    "Uncle bloggers?" A truly brilliant blogger must have thought up that phrase

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  5. Oh Bone, he's adorable. I can see why you love him so much. Tell him I said Happy Birthday~ Have a great weekend.

    Funny stuff the pulling of toilet paper from the roll and dropping the remotes into the toilet.

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  6. What a nice tribute, Bone. Did you share any of the cake with him, he's offering you some!

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  7. You old softy!

    That picture got me hungry for chocolate cake.

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  8. What a great photo and you are so sweet to post about his bd!

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  9. Lucy - Thank you. I believe it! I can't imagine that it could go any faster, but it probably will.

    R8chel - And I love the "uncle bloggers" tag...

    Sweeeet.

    Renee - Thanks. Yes, it is. Do you think we'll still have blogs in the future?

    Pia - Yeah, it's been pretty neat to see her as a mom for the first time.

    Thank you. I keep waiting for the first Uncle Blogger conference :)

    Michelle Johnson - Yeah, I find him pretty entertaining. Thanks. Hope you're having a good weekend yourself.

    PennyCandy - So true. I'm tryin'.

    Sage - Oh yeah. He's pretty good right now about sharing stuff, though it's almost always partially eaten.

    Murf - I know. We will return you to your regularly scheduled self-deprecating wit and over-analyzed minutiae shortly.

    Helene - Thanks. He's pretty photogenic in my biased opinion :)

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  10. This is the sweetest post ever!

    Happy first birthday!

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  11. I totally teared up reading the paragraph about your sister as a Mom. Those are probably some of the biggest compliments you could ever pay her.

    This was a wonderful post for your nephew - and for you. Those first years pass so quickly (as do they all I imagine), so to be able to look back will be a gift for both of you one day.

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  12. awww

    He is going to love to read this when he's 21. That was a beauty of a post Bone.

    My keyboard keeps wanting to call you bobe.

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  13. Too cute!!! Lovely post, and happy b'day to the lil one!

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  14. Mama Zen - Thank you. Although now I'm a little worried about what I'm gonna write if and when I have my own kids :)

    MarkD60 - Thanks.

    TC - Well, thanks. It's hard to describe watching your little sister--this girl you picked on and grew up with--become a mother. One of the very cool things about life, I think.

    Cooper - You think? I was figuring maybe when he's 30.

    I will answer to bobe. I wasn't sure, but I just had a meeting with myself and we've decided that yes, bobe is acceptable.

    Kontan - Thank you.

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  15. I have a feeling you weren't an easy big brother to live with. Your poor sister.

    Yeah, I'd say 30 or so. 21 for boys would still be too immature to appreciate the sentimentality of these :)

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  16. I had to stop halfway through your post because I couldn't see through my tears...this was so beautiful, Bone. When you talked about the 'gleam' in his Mom's eye, I knew exactly what you were talking about because I have that gleam with my daughter, still, even though she's now 18. Your nephew is blessed, and he sure has an awesome uncle...thanks for sharing this wonderful post.

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  17. You certainly have a father's heart. He's a lucky fella to have an uncle like you. What a sweet post and maybe I can make Nephew Bone's cake for year 2! ;-)

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  18. What a lovely post, and so well written too. You nearly made me cry when you were talking about your sister. I like the way you addressed this to Nephew Bone as well. It would be lovely if you posted like this for him every year. It would be such a great eighteenth (or somethingth) birthday present to look back on all these wonderful thoughts your uncle has had about you. Especially because you're right: he won't remember being one but it will mean the world to him that everyone else thought it was so important.

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