It's Been A Year

It was just over a year ago, on October 18, 2016, that Cory and I found out our baby (then only 19 weeks in-utero) would have a cleft lip. While that news set us off on a whirlwind of emotions, it also became the moment that our baby became much more real to us. Up until then, he was a little blob on a screen. We knew he was in there and we did everything we could to protect him, but it was still hard to imagine we were having a baby. 

When we learned the then-scary news we experienced both the outsized love and at the same time the pain that comes along with parenthood was the moment we really became parents. It was also in that moment that our baby became Finch.

Now, we have a 7 1/2-month-old. We have gone through the roller coaster of emotions trying to figure out what to do with the news of the cleft. We have gone through the pregnancy. We have gone through the birth. We have gone through the months of reveling in the beauty of his little cleft. We have gone through the surgery. We have gone through the recovery. And now we are here at a really fun and amazing point in our little infant's life. 

Last October feels like ten minutes ago. It also feels like an eternity ago.

Now our little guy is turning into an amazing little human. Every week gets more and more fun with him and he has a special bond with both of us. It's a similar bond with me and Cory, but different between us and it's fun to watch.

Right now Finch is really loving life. Even on days when he has a cold (today, in fact!) he's still finding enjoyment in the cool things around him - like the wooden spoons, and plastic containers, and mommy's phone (anything that's not a toy, really). 

He's sitting like a champ. He loves music, especially drumming. He loves dogs. Oh my goodness does he love dogs (I will write it now for future reference, but we are not and likely will never get a dog). He loves people (the kid is an extrovert, like his mama). He loves posing and hamming it up for mama's camera (plenty of opportunities for that). He loves walking and hiking - anything where he's looking out in the world in the front pack or the stroller. He loves hanging out with family (he got to meet all of his cousins from Cory's side of the family this month). And he loves food. 

His rolling capabilities are second to none. And now he's pivoting on his belly, but no crawling yet (that's fine with me! Gives us time to baby-proof our little house). His favorite thing to say is "lalalalalalalala" and sometimes "dadadada" (no, it's not his first word yet, Cory! There's still plenty of time for mamamama).

It's been a crazy journey over the last year. We love this little guy so much and can't wait to see how his personality grows. What a year it has been.