This weekend my baby turned one.
I type these words with tears in my eyes. Some are happy tears, some are grateful tears, and some, I will admit, are wistful.
My son; this child of mine has surprised me from the very beginning.
He surprised me when I peed on a stick and saw two lines. Really? But it happened so fast.
And then he surprised me when the ultrasound tech, during my 12 week scan, told me that he saw “something between the legs”. He surprised me by being a boy.
He surprised me by being in the transverse position in my belly.
He surprised me at 4 am, 4 days before his scheduled C-Section, by waking me with painful contractions.
He surprised me by having a prominent cleft chin, bright blue eyes and golden red hair.
And the list goes on and on.
So now this little baby, my once tiny, almost 8 lb bundle whom I held in the delivery room just an hour after his birth, as he latched on like a pro and nursed, making me feel whole and at home, is no longer tiny. Quite the opposite, in fact. He is a boy. He stands on his own two feet (literally). He is on the verge of walking. He says real words.
He eats pulled pork and an avocado a day and squeals for seaweed.
He knows how to work the tv remote.
And so, in order to honor our boy, we decided that he needed a little reminder of just how special he is.
It feels as though I was just writing about my daughter’s first birthday. I wrote about themes and there was fanfare.
But for my son, for obvious reasons, we kept it small. Just his baby friends and our parents.
But just because it was small, it does not mean that it was not mighty.

We gave my son a Halloween party; We all dressed as super heroes and he danced along as we sang “Happy Birthday” and he face-planted into his cake and it was amazing.
But was more amazing was that I realized the strength of the team that surrounded me; My dearest friends who became family in the past year; The babies whom I get to raise as my children’s cousins. I love them so much. They’ve made me an aunt.
Because we made a family for ourselves. And my family is strong. They have exhibited superhuman strength in the past year,
like nothing I have ever seen before.
When I needed help, my friends and family rallied around me like this incredible, nurturing, giving, selfless Justice League.
My team is stupendous. They are super, indeed.
Happy First Birthday to the sweetest boy I have ever known.
You are strong, yet gentle,
sensitive and smiley,
and you have made me who I am today.
The sky’s the limit, kid.
I can’t wait to see where this world takes you. Or, more appropriately,
where you take this world.