Birthday season continues with baby Theo turning 1 last week. We celebrated by getting him his favourite food in the whole world. Uh huh, cake. Most kids are fascinated by the candles and the singing and the attention, but this baby is all about the cake.
He’ll have his cake and eat it. Which is exactly what he did. And then he had another cake and ate that too.
His entire life right now can be summed up by a very discerning equation:
Cake = happiness and all the good things in the world.
This boy knows what’s what.
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Hey baby Theo,
It’s your first birthday time capsule, how about that? You’ve been my baby for a whole year, and I couldn’t be happier to be your momma.
I know we had a bit of a rough start, you and I. The first month we spent together was straight up challenging. We struggled with the nursing, and the sleeping, and the gassiness, and the shouting. I’d wake up every morning and wish that you’d magically grow up.
Well, abracadabra, because look at you now. At this moment, I wish that you’d just stop growing for one minute and let me take in your squishy baby face.
There’s a lot to like about one-year-old you.
Like this face.
Urgh, how does anyone get to be this adorable? Is there any fairness in life? No.
Also, I like how you’re like the equivalent of a baby Chuck Norris. All testosterone and brute strength and manly grunts. The other day, I watched you playing with a wooden spatula and instead of using to pretend to cook like normal children, you were trying to yank it into two with your bare hands. It was a solid piece of wood, and you thought that you could pull it apart like cotton candy. After a few minutes of grunty pulling, you got really frustrated and started yelling, then finally sobbing into my shirt tragically, like “I’m NOT STRONG ENOUGH!!!”
I’m starting to suspect that you already have more testosterone than both your brothers combined. As though there isn’t already enough manly hormones in this house.
You’re really into birds these days. Why?? There are so many other beautiful animals in the world like fluffy bunnies and puppies and chinchillas, but the one animal you spend your day obsessing about is birds. I do not get it. They squawk a lot and poop everywhere and are generally pesky, but you get so excited every time you see a bird.
“BUH! BUH!!” you’d point and yell.
Now I understand what it means to love someone because I’m starting to get excited about birds too. We’d go on bird hunting walks to play our favourite game called See Who Can Point At More Birds. I’m progressing from “eww birds, gross” to “I can tolerate being near them”. Maybe one day, I’ll even learn to like them.
Before you were born, I used to worry that you’d miss out on having an appropriate amount of attention, having to share with 3 bigger siblings. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. You’re so loved by so many people.
Especially your 3 favourite siblings. If they hear the slightest sound of distress from you, they’ll immediately stop any activity we’re doing and make me “faster go take care of baby Theo”.
I love your toothy grins, and your face-eating kisses, and your delicious munchy rolls, and your cuddly chest snuggles, and your arsenal of rude faces, and the way you climb onto my lap with your favourite book.
I love you more than you love cake and we both know that’s a lot.
