Year 1: By the Numbers

17 lbs gained

11 shots

1 freckle: on his inner thigh

355 baths

4 nights that someone other than me or Bud put John to bed

1 injury with blood

5 times I pulled over because John was crying in the car: always a bad idea...just keep driving

8 teeth

365 days nursing

2 counties visited: duuuuuuuuuuuval and st johns (we’ll see more of the world in 2014)

165 times being called a girl by a stranger

3 kisses from the lady at Publix: For real, she kisses him and I don’t know what to do about it

1 massive freakout by me: It wasn't pretty

11,180,772 times I’ve said “Oh my god, he’s so cute.”

11,180,773 times I’ve said “Why are you being such an asshole?”

26 times I've regretted his name: more on that later

Dr. Jekyll

Mr. Hyde

Happy Birthday, little love

Wonderful You - James J. Metcalfe

My darling, you are wonderful and perfect as can be,
And every day I thank the world that you belong to me.
Your loving smile inspires me to reach a nobler height,
And in so many other ways you are my guiding light.
You are my morning sunshine and the peaceful sky of blue
And you are all the silver stars that make my dreams come true.
I speak your name as softly as my lips would say a prayer,
Though I could not begin to tell how much I really care.
I love you, darling, more than life could ever mean to me
Because you are my hope and happy memory.

John's 1st Christmas

Ho, ho, ho!  Before my boy’s first Christmas is completely neglected (like his first Thanksgiving…whoops!), I thought I should write a little something here.

John was incredibly lucky to spend his first Christmas with almost his entire family…mom, dad, his sisters, all 4 grandparents, all 7 aunts & uncles (including Petey), and 4 of his cousins (including Jake).  We missed you, Shiva!  Nannie isn't able to come to mom's house anymore, but Bud, John, and I went to see her the day after Christmas.

Christmas Eve morning we woke up and headed to the Garros to hangout with that side of the family for a while.  Mimi and grandpa’s house is full of fun toys and cousins so John had a blast.  We left at lunchtime and the poor kid was asleep before we were out of the neighborhood.  We got home and attempted to get him to sleep in his bed, but that wasn’t happening.  

Around 3:00 we gave up and headed to my parents house for presents and dinner.  John got some practical things (clothes, thermometer, stroller attachment) and a bunch of really fun toys (A car! A firetruck ball pit! A piano!).   Despite not having a nap, John was pretty sweet and spent most of the time hanging out in Bud’s lap.  As usual, dinner was fabulous.  Lasagna + wine + garlic bread = happy Katie.  John started to be an ass towards the end of dinner so we had to scoot out pretty quickly before things turned ugly.  Needless to say, John was exhausted when we got home and feel sound asleep pretty quickly.

This wasn't a new toy, but kept John entertained while we opened gifts,

When he wasn't playing with that toy, he was sitting in Bud's lap idolizing Paul.

This is an awkward pose...I swear we like each other.

John's first pair of sunglasses.  Babiators.

Christmas morning John woke up at 8:00 and I nursed him as quickly as possible so we could get to Bud’s parents’ house.  All the kids over there were patiently waiting for us to get there so they could see what Santa brought them.  I’m 99% sure I would NOT have been able to wait so I was impressed when we got there that there were still wrapped presents. 

John was a little over-whelmed with the craziness once we started unwrapping, but he was perfectly happy to sit in Mimi’s lap and watch everyone.  I don’t think she minded either.  Like the night before, John was completely spoiled.  He got a water table, a cell phone, a tv remote, a ball thingy, a little baby couch, books, a magic cube, and a ton of other stuff I’m forgetting.  After presents we had the traditional Garro Christmas Day BBQ (burgers, macaroni salad, and chips) and then we left.  Again, John fell asleep in the car immediately.  We took a very, very long way home so that he could sleep knowing that it’d be his only nap of the day.

Just hold me, Mimi.

Post gift-opening haze

Asleep within 3 minutes of getting in his carseat.

(No, he didn't have that Mt. Dew...it's just a toy in the car)

We were home with the girls for about an hour or so and then headed back to PVB to my parent’s house for dinner family time.  Another amazing meal…beef tenderloin, potatoes, and salad.  Just like the night before, John started to turn into a gremlin half way through dinner so we left before Allyson and Paul decided to get sterilized.

We are so, so lucky to have both sides of the family here in Jacksonville.  It would be very hard to miss one side or another on Christmas.  We were, however, a bit exhausted.  Eight trips to and from PVB in 48 hours is a little much, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

7

I've made some mistakes in my 31 years. Some of these mistakes were doozies and some were just silly. But the biggest decision I ever made - who to marry, who to share my life with - is one choice that I couldn't have done any better.

This week Bud and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. Looking back, I still can't believe that we got engaged at 23 and married just a year later. If John comes to me in 22 years saying he's found "the one," I'll turn him around and tell him to come back in a decade. 

But we knew. At the beginning and end of every day, we knew. We knew we were special. Every-single-day I feel special because he loves me and every-single-day I try to be the person that this amazing man will be proud to call his wife.  I don’t say we’re special because I feel like we have something others don’t.  I say we’re special because we truly feel that way and I can only wish that everyone I love feels the same way about her own partner. 

We knew that adding a baby to our family would change our relationship.  I think anyone who says it doesn’t is a big fat liar, but the God’s honest TRUTH is that it has made us stronger.  It’s made me love him in a whole new way.  I’ve always felt like I “needed” him, but before John it was like when I “need” a coffee in the morning.  Now, I need him like a fish needs water.  He’s not only a lifeline for survival, he’s home. He’s in the trenches with me every day and he makes it fun. 

I don’t know what I did to deserve him, but will spend the next 60 years making sure that we always feel this way about each other.