Impending Toddlerhood

My son is going to be one.  *tear*

It seems like yesterday he looked like this:

24 hours old

He definitely doesn't look like that anymore!  Now he looks more like this:

Christmas 2011

So much has changed in almost a year.  I think back to what was going on at this time last year and I was in the beginning of a very long early labor phase (two weeks of actual contractions before my water finally broke!) and now I'm planning his first birthday party.  

My little guy is crawling now like a pro, pulling himself up to stand, walking while holding on to either the wall or the entertainment center or my hands.  He stood up all alone today (after he pulled himself up) and actually took a step on his own!  He has two teeth (soon to be four teeth I hope), he feeds himself finger food, and he's saying my name (Mama!).  He laughs as he crawls after his sister (his furry four legged doggy sister) and he pushes his ball back to me.

Hey!  It's snowing!

He's had his first stomach flu, his first cold, taken his first antibiotic and had his first blood draw for labs.  He's seen snow and caught a snowflake on his tongue (only after watching his daddy do it over and over again) and he's starting to understand the difference between spending time with Mama and spending time with Daddy.  He knows who his aunties are and he knows who Uncle Tony is (my pastor).  He knows Grandma (my mom), Grandpa and Gammy (my in-laws), and he smiles at me whenever I say "Grandma" "Grandpa" or "Gammy".

He's not my baby anymore.  He's my toddler.  For some reason, that makes me horribly sad and incredibly proud at the same time.