One

Today you are one my dear Maxy. I can hardly believe it.  The last 12 months have gone by in a blur.  We have watched you quickly transform from a little baby boy into an active, inquisitive and loving toddler. You came into our lives not long ago but we couldn't imagine life without you for one single second. You make our world balanced, crazy at times, but just the way things are meant to be.

At one, you are as active as ever and boy do you like to climb.  You continue to scale anything you can and your pace is unbelievable.  We have wised-up and have learned to stop trying to deter you because you get so mad.  You fuss, you cry, you holler.  Instead, we now stand behind you when you are way up high (like standing on the windowsill) in case you make a miss-step.

You are so full of life and enthusiasm.  You go crazy when you see birds and dogs; you get so excited and start oohing and aahing. You do everything with gusto.  You rarely slow down.  I still have not been able to get you to sit still enough to read you a book.  Two or three pages is all you can manage without having to be on the move.  You go from one thing to the next and it's rare that something holds your attention for more then a minute of two.  Not even TV.  For that I suppose we should be thankful, but sometimes it would be nice if you could sit still for just a few minutes.  I know that time will come, but it's certainly not here yet.

You are a happy little guy and continue to be ever so smiley.  You have a mouthful of teeth and you show your pearly whites every chance you get.  Your hair is starting to grow out now so it doesn't all stick straight up, only part of it.  It's still blonde and fluffy and just perfect. I kiss your head every chance I get, knowing that I won't be able to do that for much longer.

You go back and forth between wanting to be with mommy and daddy.  You can't make up your mind so we end up passing you back and forth like a hot potato.  You are very determined most of the time and know what you want, it's just a matter of being able to communicate what you are thinking.

One of your current favorite things to do is throw things on the floor and say "uh-oh."  If you are not jazzed about something you are eating, you will take very single piece of food and drop it on the floor.  You will do it as long as we let you.  I wonder how much food we have picked up off the floor in the last couple of months since you started this 'game.' You frequently wave and say "bye-bye" when you are coming or going.  The only thing is that your wave is often backwards.  You're working on it.

You are about to walk at any moment.  You have been pulling yourself up for quite some time and there is no doubt you will be taking off soon. You've taken a few half steps here and there and often stand on your own.  You will be cruising in no time.  The world is yours to explore.  We look forward to watching you learn and investigate.

Everything is better because of you. Thank you for coming into our lives and making the world a better place. We love you more than we can express and we are so happy you are ours.  A very happy first birthday to our beautiful boy, our shining star, our Maxwell!