happy new year!

I still can't believe it's 2014.

Last night, I looked up at my husband and said to him, "This June, we will be married 3 years. Which means we've been together for 12." He looked at me sort of stunned at first, then his face softened into a grin and said, "So, how's it been?"

Well 2013 has definitely been the year of all years for me. The year I started my journey into motherhood and will never look back.

Sam will be 1 in a couple of weeks, completing one revolution around the sun. He's walking now, teeter tottering from room to room, like a gingerbread man. He often holds both arms up or will clutch one of his favorite toys for balance. He makes all sorts of sounds now - I know he's trying to articulate something but I'm still not sure what, though I often guess. He definitely knows how to say "Dada" and he knows who Dada is.

This morning during breakfast I watched as Sam waddled from room to room. He had two of his favorite wood blocks with him, one in each little dimpled fist. He was yapping away about something as he moved, with purpose, from living room to dining room to kitchen and back again - my husband patiently steering around him as he made us a much needed pot of coffee. Sam was trying to corral the dogs together but only succeeded in sending them scurrying away to every corner of our house to get away from his clumsy stomping feet and grabbing hands. Somewhat defeated, he would head back to the kitchen and wedge his big head between my husband's knees (oh, he's still so little!), only to waddle back to the living room, once again in search of ... the dogs? His toys?  His next adventure!

These are the mornings I want to remember. The fleeting rituals of our daily lives. Our little son is growing up right before our eyes. And I still can't believe that he even exists at all.

{via the atlantic}