elijah is one
In preparation for Elijah's birthday (today) I have been looking back at pictures of my other children at 1 year old. They each had their innocent round faces still, and I loved them simply as my perfect angel babies. Looking back, though, I can see the beginnings of the personalities that would so deeply identify Harvey and Zion as themselves. Harvey, for example, is shown in nearly every photograph talking.
let me tell you something about this wind, mama....
And wanting to totally be the boss of his surroundings...
there's something in my way!
... and of everyone in them.
are you for real, mom?
Zion, on the other hand, always faced the world with a face that said, "I'm thinking of a joke..."
i am thinking of something silly...
Or, "I just told myself a joke."
haha!
But his countenance still turns serious in some situations. Like when it has to do with candy.
i love candy
So it's fun to think of little Elijah, 1 year old today, and the distinctive faces he makes.
There's the getting really happy face:
i think something good is coming, but i'm not sure, but I'm kind of ready to break into a big smile
And the really happy face:
big smile!
There's the face that says, "I'm just here chilling, just one of the boys."
we're good, no need to intervene
And then there's the face that asks silently, "Is this okay for me to have, mom?"
is this okay?
We've had a whole year now to memorize Elijah's faces. It seems like a long time, like we have this knowing-him-thing down pretty well. And yet I realize from my other two children that the first birthday is a false front of a milestone. There is still so much more babyhood to go. There are first words and first tantrums. There are favorite books to pick out and a favorite color to identify. Lord I hope he likes green, because that would forever make it easy to keep their socks separate. But I know all too well, children grow up and have minds of their own.
So there's no hurry, little Elijah, to grow up and "become" anything other than what you are right now. With that sweet smile and tiny nose and soft pillow cheeks. "Your face," I tell him all the time, "is a kissing place."
