You Are One.

Happy Birthday Gabriel.

5/18/2010. 4:35am.

You amaze me.

This week....

I picked up a bottle of water and you said, "Ahhhhhh."  Like the kind of 'ahhhh' one makes after taking a totally refreshing swig of a beverage.

I sneezed and you pretended to sneeze, but all you can really do is blow raspberries, so you said, "Ahhh-Ahhhh-pppbbbbbtttt" and then laughed hysterically.

You grabbed your Dad's paper towel and pretended to blow your nose for at least 10 minutes.

You snatched the remote and pointed it at the TV with complete determination.

You grabbed the comb from my hand and tried to comb your own hair. Then you combed my hair.

I pointed to the star toy and you said, "Stow-ah".

I pointed to a flower and you said, "Fowww"

I said 'Bath time' and you said, "Affff" and went running for the tub.

You point at my nose, my ears, my mouth...you jab your itty bitty index claw into my eyeball.

You wrapped your arms around me and said, "Mama".

As you become more and more interactive with the world around you, I am simply awestruck.

Are you, calm humorous toddler, the same child that just one year (ish) ago was howling for 4-6 hours at a stretch, driving me to tears while I rocked crazily while watching muted movies with earplugs in and subtitles turned on just so I could attempt to survive THE colic?

Are you, pasta munching giggler, the same nipple-nomming infant who rubbed me raw and bled me dry for days and nights on end while I white knuckled it with nothing but staunch determination, until the teeth came?

Are you, waddling walking little lad the same jiggly spaghetti-limbed babe who spent the first months of your life just staring with absolute fascination at a universe you didn't have the ability to interact with?

Are you, precious love, the child that made me a mother? That changed my life?

Are you the one that made me a better, more loving, more patient, more tolerant person? I can only wish with everything in me that you can one day say the same thing about me.

You are one.

And you are my one.

And you are my love.

And I love you.

Forever.