One Year

Dear Jackson,

Who would have thought that the feeling I had looking at a positive pregnancy test on July 7, 2005 would turn into the feeling I have today, celebrating your first year of life? It's amazing to think that you have been blessing us with your presence for a whole year!

It all started simply enough. Well, as simple as nine (ten) months of pregnancy can be! But after the pregnancy and 30+ hours of labor, we had a baby. Just like that, we went from a childless couple to the parents of an infant. Talk about scary! But you were pretty easy on us. :)

I got seven weeks off of work to spend with you, my new little bundle of joy. It was nice to be able to take our time getting used to each other and settling into this whole new experience. I learned very quickly that I had made the right decision about not returning back to work in the fall. How could I leave you all day? :)

Unfortunately, I did have to go back to work and finish out the last five weeks of the school year. But you had fun everyday with Mimi, Grandma, Kathleen, and Mandie. In May I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day. What a wonderful feeling!

Before long, it was summer and we had all the time in the world again. Your personality certainly started to show through! You very quickly proved yourself to be an extremely delightful kid. As it got warmer outside, you got to discover more of the world around you. We all discovered that you preferred the baby carrier to the stroller, as evidenced by your screaming the entire second half of a walk!

As your personality developed, so did your recognition of and appreciation for the people around you: Mimi, Poppa, and Uncle Sean, Grandma and Uncle John, and lots of friends.


In August, you took your first plane ride--to Seattle for Shauna's wedding. You did great on the plane and loved all of the fun stuff we did in the city. Soon after we returned, school started and we started daycare together.

September also brought cooler weather, a runny nose, and your first taste of solid food. Yum!

Six months was a big milestone. Not so much at the time, but looking back, the first six months of your life went really slowly and the last six months have just flown! Not to mention that you don't even look like a baby anymore. You're a little man!

For Halloween, you were a dragon. And a scary one!

For Thanksgiving, you had a cold. And a bad one!


For Christmas, you were just the best little kid celebrating your first Christmas. You got lots of presents and got to be a part of lots of traditions.

January brought the new year and a new big milestone for you--you FINALLY slept through the night! And what a difference it made for all of us! Luckily, you have kept it up!

We also got to experience some of Minnesota's finest snow--you loved it! You also started walking all over the place. Yikes!

All of this has brought us to where we are now--one year old. It's incredible to watch you grow and learn new things and figure out how stuff works. You're a smart little kid! We've enjoyed every moment of this first year, and we're so excited for many more!

Love you, dear boy

Mom :)