I am officially mother to a one year old.

Its hard to believe that this time, a year ago, I went to the birth house in the morning,  stopped by the hospital around 12pm, ( had a two hour labour) and was home with a 2.5kilo baby by 4pm in the afternoon.

a year on -  here are some  of the things I love about being a mother, in no particular order....

simple pleasures Kai has given me...

• How excited he gets when Oliver or I come home - his whole face lights up!(it does not matter if its five minutes, or hours)
• That he shares his food with me. Even his last morsel, it could be half a sultana,  - he wants to share it with me. He also loves feeding me with a spoon, even though he uses his hands to feed himself.
• That i get a big kiss after feeding him milk, * every-time without fail*  - which is accompanied by his "ahhh" sound,( which he thinks is the noise you have to make when giving kisses)
• That I awake to a big smile every morning! he is such a happy morning baby :)
• That he is so affectionate. Big towel - wrapped cuddles and tickles are top favourites, and watching oli and I kiss, he loves it!
• when he eats something he likes, it is followed by animated clapping of his hands (raisin toast gets this reaction a lot)
• the elation on his face when he accomplishes something for himself - like the first time he managed to walk around the table by himself.
• how excited he gets when he sees a puppy, or any kind of animal for that matter
• the "naughty" look he gets when doing something he knows he is not supposed to ( like drink the water in the shower drain)! this "look" comes complete with teeth showing, which adds to the cheekiness.
• poking his tongue out at Oli and I  when we do it. Cute. Cute. Cute.
• how he loves to examine intricate things, often with just one finger. he loves plucking the guitar, single strings at a time.
• That he loves playing. He will chase me around the lounge room  on all fours, laughing. hide and seek is endless hours of entertainment.
• the love of music and dance, often Kai and I will have a dance around the kitchen  to the radio.
• that he talks to his own reflection. he babbles away  to himself, and occasionally will kiss his own reflection.
• how proud he is to show me when he can  command his own body to do something, like kick his legs, or bounce in the bouncer/
• that he will raise his shoulders and both hands as if to  ask "why?!" when he does not understand something.
• Finally, he loves to laugh.  he laughs at strangers, he laughs along with me at me when I find something funny, he laughs watching me when I do yoga and, sometimes i do not know what he finds funny, he just has a private little chuckle to himself.

of course, this list is an endless one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BABY. Mummy loves you. Ich liebe dich.

very very much.