Moments

These are the best moments of the day. The pure joy of life and living experienced with a child. Hunter was rocking his new minion t-shirt (not that he even knows what a minion is or noticed that he has a new t-shirt) and his duck hat both of which are from Aunt Jenny. I think he must have been responding to my delight at his duck hat because he doesn't really like hats, but he sure does love attention. 

These are the long moments of the day. The exhausted boy at the end of a full day. Hunter managed to get some food in and much food everywhere. He had cheese in his hair, yogurt all over his face, and cherry-stained fingers. One of my favorite and first videos of Hunter shows him using two hands to get a small cracker into his mouth. It's fun to watch him work on using utensils now. 

And then there are the hard moments of the day that are never photographed. Hunter is testing his boundaries at each turn and disciplining a one year-old is difficult. Sometimes it feels hard to figure out which things need to be addressed and which things will disappear on their own as he develops. It's hard to figure out the best intervention for his personality. It's hard to watch him choose to do what he's not supposed to do (while looking straight at me) just because the impulse control is limited at this point, the action is just plain fun, or the attention is worth the behavior. It's hard to be consistent when I'm hungry or tired. It's hard for him to behave appropriately when he's hungry or tired.  It's hard because sometimes the days feel so repetitive that it's worth a scream or a count to ten or a prayer to anyone listening. 

Having a child is the best moments, the long moments, and the hard moments.