Life at 1

I've been neglecting the blog for a few weeks, not intentionally, but life has just been really busy. A few weeks ago I had one week that only allowed me to be at home 2 days taht week. The next week wasn't much better, and now this week is adding up to be the same. While there have been some interesting things that have happened, one thing in particuluar really stands out to me. Ammon and his 1 year old-ness.

Today I took the kids out to the lake and brought our load of camera equipment: camera, lenses, filters, tripod, and only left behind the kitchen sink, it felt like. I didn't use any of the stuff I dragged out there except the camera and the lense I had on it. I think I need some instructions on how to use the camera...we've only had it for two years. Anyway, getting side tracked there. It was Ammon who I really enjoyed photographing. He looked at the camera at the right time, smiled at the right time, did cute things at the right time...like eating a stick and then getting a look on his face that was one of puzzlement, gross, and "I won't do that again." He's so short, so he toddled around looking for stuff his height to play with. He was fascinated with the dandelions. And he talks about stuff now. After having two kids with speech delays, it still amazes me when my baby of 14 months says stuff like yes, car, kitty, no, baba (for bubbles...amazingly not for an actual bottle), mama, dada, and Hannah. Joshua talked early too, and so did Hannah, but it's still so amazing to me to hear his voice form words.

Ammon learned to climb onto furniture. Today when I came into the living room, he was standing on the piano bench, Simeon was standing on a chair and Joshua was standing on the desk. Who do I save first?! Ammon cleans up his toys, asks questions with that little lift at the end of his babbles, tries to rip the ears off the cat. Toilets are fascinating, and so are the soap bottles in the tub. Diaper changes must be accomplished within 2.5 seconds because that's all the time he's deemed necessary for them. What's in must be out, what's up must be down, and what's folded neatly must be crumpled.

I laugh every time I lay him down because he's made himself a little nest in his bed out of his favorite boppy, some blankets and a cloth diaper. If only my other children went to be so easily. He's given up most of his morning naps now, so he barely lasts until lunch time before falling asleep in his food.

Last week we experimented with floods in the garden area and Ammon loved wandering around the backyard, in the mud, on the toys, testing a dirt clod or two. He was happy today to wander off down a trail, free and as fast as his little legs would carry him. I have to say he's doing quite well walking in shoes now.

Sometimes I think about how many negative comments I get for having "all those kids". What would life be like without this one soul? What would I have missed had he not joined our family? Today I held both Joshua and Ammon on my lap while they both drank sippy cups of milk, wondering what they will be like as grown men. Had they not come into our lives, I'm sure it'd be easy to say at any given time "you wouldn't have a sewing machine covered in red permenant marker, or crayon drawings on the wall, or a broken DVD player, 15 loads of laundry, chocolate milk stains on the headliner of the van, or you could be sleeping through the night." Once again, I'm reminded that they are only in our homes for such a short time. These years of being in the trenches of motherhood are but a blink in our life time.