One

I love one. My children at one are delights. They amaze me with the new words they pick up every day, their new quirks, their developing personalities. I love getting to know them as little people, with likes and dislikes. I love the joy with which they view the world. One is a fantastic age. (My love for this age probably explains how I thought getting pregnant again with a one year old (or a one and a three year old) at home was a good idea. Or I just have a really good sense of humor and a really bad memory.)

Chris and I are in love with Griffin at one. He wakes up with glee and within moments is dancing in the kitchen to a song only he can hear. He spends most of the day hugging each member of our family, grabbing legs or arms or any part of you he can reach to show his love. Each day brings a new word – chair, ball, book, cup, juice, sit, milk, no, momma, daddy, balloon, belly, out, up, down, jump… He loves to show off his belly and if you ask him to touch his nose he prefers to shove his fingers up his nose.

He loves to sit and look at books. His favorite book is Goodnight Moon and if you ask him for “Moon” he will run to the book shelf excited to grab his book and sit on your lap to read it again, and again. And when you get to the part where the old lady speaks in a hush, Griffin will start to whisper in a baby language as if he fears he could wake up the little bunny trying to get to sleep.

Griffin has abandoned his high chair for good, in favor of eating next to his brothers. He refuses to use a sippy cup and must use an identical cup as his big brothers, even if it means that most of his milk ends up on the floor. He will try any and all food – from broccoli to spinach to steak. He eats it and loves it. He has a love affair with Oreos, but if you try to give him only one cookie at a time, he cries because he believes he should have one for each hand.

Griffin will chase Aidan and scream until Aidan sits on the floor just so Griffin could climb up into his big brother’s lap to play. He loves music and will point to my IPOD to tell me to turn on music so he can bust a move. He is desperate to learn how to jump. You will find him alone in a room throwing his arms up in the air and trying to get his little body off the ground. He does it again and again, hoping next time he will do it. He loves to mimic his big brothers, including copying Brennan's giant burp at dinner tonight down to even a "scuze me" tied into the end.

Griffin is a delight. He is a joy. He is a love.

Sometimes I wish I could freeze him at this age and keep him like this forever. My last little baby at one.