Buddies

Yesterday little Austin turned one. As I write that, I still can't believe it. I used to babysit kids and sometimes the days would just drag on. I would wait for the parents to get home incredulous to how they keep their minds from going numb on a daily basis. I loved kids. I did. I babysat from the time I was 12 and had five families that I became the main sitter for. I grew close to the kiddos and watched them grow from little squirmy babies to running active kids. But it all seemed to take sooooo long.

Not so with Austin. Sometimes I feel like I won't notice all the changing he is doing because it all happens so damn fast. One day he is flapping his hands like a wild animal and the next he is calmly putting shapes through his shape sorters. Maybe that is why I used to think things went so slow, I think it's hard to care about shape sorters unless it's your kid that has discovered the circle and the circle hole.

Through the past year Austin has developed likes. I would say he has also developed dislikes, but he seems to like most things, just to different degrees and at different times. Sometimes he likes his car rides, other times he would rather be doing something else. Like screaming. One thing has stayed pretty consistent from day one though. And that is my dad. He loves his Mike. He will choose my dad over Chris and I 98% of the time and the 1% of the time it's me it is because he wants to nurse.

Though a year ago my dad wasn't so sure about sharing his birthday, I think he has come to terms with the whole thing. In fact, I think he kind of likes it.

Happy belated birthday to my great dad, Austin's best friend, and to our very loved son!