Year 1, Day 130

I get it now. Before having Jackson I never understood why people responded to the question "How old is your child" with a number of months. For instance "ohhh, he's 16 months and 2 weeks" or, "yah, I think we've reached about 21 months." It always made me laugh, because I thought - why can't you just say "he's about a year and a half" or "he's close to turning two". I'd never tell a person that I am 381 months (which is actually quite disheartening and depressing now that I did the math). But, I get it now - when referring to children.

Before the age of 2, one month to another is a light year away. Forget the difference between 16 and 17 months - I see a huge difference in him from the sun going down to rising the next day. It completely explains why mothers refer to their children's age in months. Last month, Jackson's vocabulary consisted of a handful of words, and this month he is trying to imitate every word he hears. Last month, he was in the infant room hanging out with babies all day, and this month, he runs around the toddler room playing with dinosaurs, turning on the sink, and enjoying circle time.

Once he turns 2, that's probably the unwritten rule to stop referring to his age in months. But, for now, since each 30 day period makes substantial growth it makes sense. When else in our lives do we make such great advancements in such a short period of time? From one month to another, I don't do anything as miraculous as he does. I've never learned a language so quickly . . . or, figured out how ski or snowboard as fast as he learned to walk. So tonight, I congratulate him on 1 year and 130 days of life, or 16 months and a week or so. May he continue to navigate and adjust to this crazy world each day.