A look back at year #1

A few weeks ago, Ryan celebrated his first birthday and I'm shocked that he's been around (and I've survived) for a whole year. Turning one means he's no longer a baby, but has graduated to toddler status. In honour of this milestone, I thought I'd take a look back at the past year and offer up the top five things I'll miss and won't miss about Ryan's babyhood.

Top 5 Things I Will Not Miss About Ryan's First Year (a.k.a. thank goodness that phase is over)

1. Our big blue exercise ball - I think I spent the first 3 months of Ryan's life bouncing on that thing
2. Barf - Poor little guy had acid reflux and I didn't wear a clean shirt for at least 6 months
3. Formula - Man, that stuff's expensive and it smells gross 
4. All things sleep - deprivation, books, training, schedules, etc.
5. The crying - Ryan came out crying and didn't stop for a long, long time

The second list was a bit harder to come up with, but after some deep reflection here's my Only Top 5 Things I'll Miss About Ryan's First 366 (it was a leap year) Days on Earth

1. His tiny little fingers that would grab mine and hold on for dear life
2. Swaddling, because he was just so darn cute all bundled up like a burrito (and it helped calm him down)
3. Lying in one place (ie., not wriggling, rolling, creeping, skooching, crawling, walking, etc.)
4. Gummy, toothless smiles
5. Watching him sleep in my arms - ok, I didn't love that he only slept in my arms, but there were times when it was pretty magical 

Goodbye baby, I'll miss you ... but I'm so excited to see what happens in year two!