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OMG in just a week, Sweetie Pea will be 1 YEAR old! I'm in total denial. Was it just a year ago that I woke up every morning wondering whether I'd have a baby that day? This past year was made up of the shortest days of my life, and the loooooongest nights. I've been reflecting on what I miss about those sweet newborn weeks, what I don't, and what I love about the age he's at right now. Here are my thoughts:

Top Ten Things I Miss About Newborn Sweets
10. Breastfed poop. I know, it's weird to miss poop but I do. It hardly smelled at all, compared to rank solid food poop.
9. His teeny tiny, itty bitty onesies. I pulled them out the other day and almost couldn't believe he had ever been small enough to fit in them.
8. How little and portable he was - I could do anything with him in the crook of of arm. Not so much anymore.
7. Eating dinner with him in the bouncer. It was so peaceful and quiet.
6. How he pretty much always fell asleep in the car.
5. Dozing in bed with him until 10 am. Oh man do I miss that!
4. Sitting still with him. Odds are at any point during the day, he was either nursing or sleeping. So if I wanted to sit my exhausted butt on the couch with him and watch 4 episodes of Teen Mom I totally could.
3. How much he nursed - it was such quiet, special bonding time.
2. Being able to change a diaper without wrestling my baby into submission.
1. The general specialness of having a newborn - it's a time unlike any other. And there are so many people to help you!

Top Ten Things I Do Not Miss About Newborn Sweets
10. Getting up 47 times a night.
9. Spit up. Spitting up was Sweets' full-time job. I'd put a clean outfit on him, and he'd puke on it. Round and round we go. I do not miss smelling like curdled milk 20 hours a day.
8. Getting up 47 times a night.
7. Having to support that floppy little head. Nerve-wracking.
6. Getting up 47 times a night.
5. 10 pm, when Hubs would go to bed and I was stuck in the living room with a newborn who wanted to nurse for 4 more hours.
4. Getting up 47 times a night.
3. Worrying about everything, all the time. Am I doing this right? Is this what he's supposed to do? What is that noise he's making? Is he breathing? For the love of God, when will he SLEEP?
2. Getting up 47 times a night.
1. Being bone-tired, out-of-my-mind exhausted and feeling disgusting because I hadn't showered in three days on top of it. Yeah, it's hard to miss that.

Top Ten Things I Love About This Age
10. His tiny little voice saying "ma? da?"
9. The way he points at EVERYTHING. Sometimes I don't think he even knows what he's pointing at. It's ridiculously cute.
8. The way he brings us books and holds them up for us to read to him. He is obsessed with the Sesame Street board books right now.
7. The "bbbbbbbbbbbb" noise he makes whenever he sees anything with wheels.
6. His adorable, toothy grin.
5. Everything he's learning: he knows that brushes are for hair, he claps when we say "yay!" he's starting to understand basic phrases like "give that to me," and questions like "do you want...?" and he's sooo close to walking and talking.
4. How delighted he is by his own reflection and by photographs. He loves looking at pictures and listening to us describe them.
3. What a good eater he still is. I know pickiness could be just around the corner.
2. How far he's come in the sleep department. We're talking two solid naps and a full night of sleep.
1. How we're the center of his universe. He thinks we're hilarious and we can still make anything all better. I hate that these days are numbered.

What a year it's been! Someone once told me that I would think every age was the best age and she was spot on!