Just one year

It's incredible, the difference a year makes.

When you first have a baby, you expect big changes fast, and you get it. The difference between a newborn and a three-month-old is vast, and then a six-month-old is even more incredible. Then, by the time a baby is one, they are walking and almost talking, and it's hard to imagine that this whole little person once lived inside you.

But I kind of expected the changes to slow down by now. Zoe's almost two-and-a-half. She's walking, talking and potty trained. She was already a person so long ago, it doesn't seem like she's going to change too much more.

And then, a day like today happens, when you get a direct comparison between today and a year prior, and you're so blown away by the changes that it's hard to recognize the child in front of you.

A year ago, we took Zoe to a pumpkin patch here in Charleston. She was almost one-and-a-half, and she was still pretty wobbly on her feet. She toddled among the pumpkins, drummed on them with some sticks she found, and studiously ignored all the other children. There was a gigantic "jump-pillow" that dwarfed Zoe when she stood next to it. She tried so hard to get up on that jump-pillow, but couldn't even begin to climb up its steep edges. We resorted to having Charles toss her as far up as he could, and she'd slide helplessly down, laughing hysterically as she tumbled.

Today, we went back to the same pumpkin patch.

Today, we were with her pre-school friends on a field trip. Today, Zoe ran among the pumpkins and interacted with other children. Without hesitation and on her own, she slid down a slide that was at least two stories high. And when she got up to that gigantic jump-pillow today, she climbed right up to the top and bounced with the kids who were at least twice her size.

Today I realized she's not a baby, by any stretch of the imagination. One year has taken my baby away, but has left me with a pretty awesome little kid.

Of course, then the over-exhausted meltdowns on the car ride home began and ripped me out of my reverie...