I can't believe we made it to 1 year

What we've learned in the past couple of months:
1. Rearing a baby does actually get better. When we were trying to function without sleep and feeling like absolute failures as parents as all parenting attempts seemed futile, it felt like that mess might last forever. And who knew? It doesn't! Not that it's all roses right now, but it's better.

Which leads to point 2. We're still not ready to start discussing a sibling for Jett. Another year, or two, or twenty may need to go by so that the trauma of the infant years may be forgotten...

3. Watching your kid grow up in front of you, even gaining the most insignificant of abilities (like being able to throw away anything [and everything] into the nearest trash bin), never gets old. I could talk your ear off about how Jett deliberately pushes buttons now, or how he likes to pick up and move his blocks back and forth between rooms, and I'm just amazed. The fact that he just started babbling, incessantly, blows my mind. People with kids seem unimpressed, while I feel slightly embarrassed discussing with my non-parent friends like they might think I'd lost my mind with how genuinely excited I got about my son's ability to point. But it's still the coolest thing. Because Jett started out as an immobile, blinking bump on a log, it really is quite impressive that he can walk and talk and take action on thoughts now.

4. Traveling is no bueno with a 1 -year-old. I would highly advise against it, if you have the option to remain home. Jett traveled well earlier in life when he would wake only to eat, and was easy to feed, lull to sleep, and restrain. Now, he is much too interested in everything going on on a plane, much too stimulated to sleep and much too excited to sit still. And long-distance car trips could potentially be successful, if timed right and the stars have aligned so that my child may actually want to sleep in a car for any period of time...

5. Jett is a good baby. Now. We're stoked that he still eats like a machine and doesn't seem to be particularly picky about any food (even likes pickles, mushrooms and blue cheese). We're grateful that he's been sleeping through the night for the last few months. And we're feeling extremely fortunate that, while he may track me through the house or stand, pressed against the back of my calves, wailing for my attention, he does tend to play for a good deal of time by himself. He busies himself with moving his toys around the house or trying to open and close lids and doors, and only after some time does he seek us out or cry to be held. I feel like we have it really good right now with this kid. For at least the 60% of the time that he's not a whiny crankasaurus due to teething...

6. Babysitters are worth getting a second job. I've not obtained a second job, but it would be worth it to be able to go out as desired and just get out of the house while a babysitter monitors our sleeping babe. Jett can go to dinner with us, and he's really good at restaurant outings, but only if dinner is 60-90 minutes prior to his bedtime. Which means we're eating dinner at 5:30 on occasion. Much easier to feed him, greet the babysitter and have her put him to bed, and be out of the house at 7 for our own, adult dinner and any after dinner plans we wish to get to. My mother has said that she didn't have children to leave them behind. And I totally agree. Jett is pretty portable still (for local events!) and great in public, but when he goes to bed at 7...his evening social schedule is hard to work in. Our new, down-the-street babysitter allows us a bit of pre-child normalcy where Kenny and I can get out and socialize, spending some valuable and much-needed time just hanging out with each other. We're better parents for it. I just wish I had more money with which to lavish her with gifts so that she knows just how much we appreciate the opportunities she affords. Normalcy!!

7. It is not the stuff of TV commercials or sitcoms that grown adults wake up singing the theme song to "Wonder Pets" or realize they've been watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" for a half hour, even after the baby has gone to sleep. I've not been devastated by this, but it is a little sad that the kid show songs are so pervasive that I sometimes can't even remember an age-appropriate favored iPod song with which to replace the cartoon tune. I was commenting to my brother today that, pervasive or not, at least the Nick Jr programming is watchable, in comparison with what we used to watch as toddlers. I tried to watch The Smurfs a few months ago and it was dreadful. He-man, Scooby Do, all of it - terrible animation, awful dialogue, just bad.

8. Goals are more important to me with a kid in tow. I've never been as focused as I am now in trying to better myself. I want to work on my anxiety and frustration; I want to succeed more at work and improve my career; I want to get back to volunteering and donate to charities on a regular basis; I want to go back to school and read more; I want to continue establishing good eating habits and adopt a consistent workout routine; I want to make myself a better person to be the best role model I can be. All these aspirations, now that I have no time for them!

Jett stats (mainly so I can document this for future reference, as we're bad parents and aren't documenting his infancy in any other form):
1 year, 21 lbs, 29 inches, ranging between the 25th and 50th percentile for both height and weight (no surprise there). He started walking just before 12 months; skill mastered between CA and NM b-day celebration trip. Just today, he realized he could lift the toilet lid to put things in the bowl. Already likes to unwind the toilet paper roll and toss toys in the kitchen trash can. Says "Mom-mom" and variations of "Dad," indiscriminately. My mom and sister swear he said "Kitty" when out in CA. Otherwise, he just babbles. A lot. He may very well be saying actual words but there's no connection yet with the actual objects or actions. He also just learned to clap and it's all he does now. We've moved him to all sippy-cup drinking, except for one night bottle, and phasing formula out until our supply is exhausted. He mostly feeds himself, with finger foods. Favorite food would be berries - blackberries, blueberries, strawberries. Is also a pretty big fan of fish sticks. HATES the word "no" and melts down immediately (the beginnings of temper tantrums) to show his disagreement with our assessment of the situation. As my son, there was a good chance he'd be prone to frustration and that's shining through - we had to remove the triangle and rectangle shapes from the shape-sorter bath toy because he got really pissed off the other night that neither would fit as the circle did through the circular hole. He's also got allergies - so there are my contributions... His hair keeps getting lighter, he loves to be outside, and has only just recently warmed up to taking baths (has no patience to sit still in the tub and is constantly trying to stand up and walk around). Cash is more wary of him now that he's a walking threat but Jett absolutely adores Cash and tries to give his toys to him and giggles when he thinks Cash might be chasing him (which is never the case; Cash would rather hide).

All is well, for now!