520 days. 17 months. Today’s milestone and a little bit of my own disbelief, all at the same time. You are growing, growing, growing, my dear boy, with no sign of slowing any time soon. I knew this was the risk we’d inherit; having you of course meant watching you take flight from day one, just the same as it means 519 days later. I cringe at this a little bit sometimes, but I love being your mama so much that it hurts, and I’d take the growing pains over anything else, any day.

I’m not so much “Mama” these days as, “Mommeeee!”, and oh, how you squeal my name with such energy and delight, it’s contagious. I liked being, “Mama,” for certain, but “Mommeeee!” comes with a sense of intention–a need expressed, attention wanted, sheer joy at the discovery of something new, love for this person who loves you more than anyone else ever could (although I’m sure if you checked with your dad on this one, he might argue, and that’s fair.) Your shift from mama and dada to mommy and daddy comes at the exact same time as a verbal explosion under our roof and you, Henry D, are at the helm. Your little voice fills up the empty spaces and wafts over and under our daily everything, heightening our senses to the sweetness that you are and the enjoyment you have always been. “Flower,” “hop top,” “bippo,” “Elmo!” “Go, Go, Go!” “Kwoo-guh (Kruger),” “Pease!” “Emma!” “Amen!” You are abuzz with chatter.

This past month cradles so many firsts…your first sentence (“That’s a cow!”), your first gondola ride in the mountains, your very first and oh-so-adorable cousin, Emmelia! Not the best month yet health-wise, your first split lip, hospital visit, CT scan, and tummy bug, along with new bumps and bruises from all of the running around you’re doing at this adventurous stage. You’ve taken two airplane rides, traveled to Chicago, Milwaukee, Denver, Breckenridge, Boulder, and back, and you’ve mastered the art of art-viewing at ArtPrize 2012. As of late, you’ve taken to leaf picking and rock collecting and Kruger chasing, too…all of the things I’d expect from a boy and all of the dirt and scrapes to go with them 😉 You are so very good for my soul!

Henry, as I watch you grow, I’m reminded over and over how our Great God knows exactly what we need, when we need it–and how He meets us there in all of His power and love and gentle compassion at every turn. We are so small, Henry, but the God we serve is Mighty and Big and Powerful and Attentive, and He will always guide us on the path He has set for our lives if we seek Him and desire His presence in the daily. I pray this for you, sweet child. That you will seek Him in the daily. Being your mama has taught me this–more than anything else ever did before you came. I need God so that I can be the best mama I’m able, for you. And I need God so that I can love and serve your daddy well, and so that I can continue to become the woman that God intends for me to be. I hope that as you grow even more, this will be apparent and encouraging to you. God has amazing plans for your life, and I get to watch them unfold every day. Even now, while you’re still so small, His hand upon you is evident in every bit of who you are.

I loved you before I knew you, and today I love you 520 times more. I pray that my longings–to keep you small and to protect you always, never get in the way of your growing and changing and adventuring in all of the ways that God will call you to on this earth. You are a miracle in our world, Henry David. Nothing will ever change that, I am sure.

to infinity and beyond,

mommeeeeee!