Reflections

It's New Year's Eve eve and as I sit here typing, I hear Brennan's breathing on the monitor, a bit heavy as he is trying to battle a cold/cough and teething pain. My heart feels heavy as I recently learned of a tragedy involving a child's death; it's a family I know from my work at Seattle Children's Hospital. I can't help but wonder why tragedy happens and to try to make sense of it all makes it even harder to comprehend. Hug your children a little closer, a little tighter tonight. Every night. Say I love you when you can. All the time.

With that, I reflect on the year...

With 2012 literally around the corner, it seems as 2011 came and went in a blink of an eye. We're now parents of a TODDLER, a thriving, healthy, fun, sweet, sensitive, loving, silly, curious, the list goes on, toddler. How did he grow up so fast? We talk about wanting to savor every moment, remember everything, write it all down, take many pictures...life just seems to pass by so quick that at times I'm afraid I'm going to forget. I haven't written everything down, Brennan is now too quick to grab the camera and try to capture the moments I hope to get...many of them are freeze-framed in my mind. I do try to savor the moment, every hug and kiss from him is precious...I know there will come a time when the randomness of those hugs and kisses will become sparse and I will be begging for them. I can't get ahead of myself here...for now, we enjoy watching him delight over the small things. Balls, football, Hawks (notice a theme here), animals, music, lights, the list goes on. He isn't walking, he is running, running full speed and embracing life as he knows it. We can only hope that we continue to give him the world, to give him opportunities to be curious, explore, and try new things. With that, we welcome 2012 with open arms and look forward to a new year of experiences, challenges, smiles, delights, and laughter.

Happy New Year!