What's better?

So I’m trying to decide.

What’s better? Jakin as a little newborn baby, or Jakin as the energetic crawling 11 month old.

Obviously, the answer is they’re both the best. I may have said it before but being a father is the best. These last 10 ½ months have been some of the best of my life. As much as baby brings so many new things to a house, and they bring a new level of busyness, sleeplessness and messiness, it’s all worth it.

I almost feel like I’ve never had a bad day since he’s been born. Granted, I’ve had some rough days at work, but the second I get to my boy, it all goes away.

When he was a newborn, I loved holding him and having him fall asleep in my arms. If I was lucky, I’d nap right next to him on the couch. There was such a peace in those moments.

Now, it’s the joy and happiness I see in him. When Liza calls me during the day, I usually hear him chatting or laughing in the background. When I get home, all we have to do is make eye contact and he gets the biggest smile on his face. He crawls over and play time begins.

You can see now that he loves his mom and dad. If we leave the room for a second, he’s quickly behind us checking up on us. If he can’t see us, he starts crying sometimes. And like I said, he lights up the room when Liza or I walk into the room.

I love seeing how much he’s learning. He holds his own bottle. He’s crawling and loves pulling himself up. I think his favorite thing right now is holding onto mine or Liza’s hands to pull himself up. When we put him in his crib, he pulls himself up. And I think he’s trying to talk now. We tell him to say “MumMa”, and” buhbuhbuh” comes out. I can’t tell yet it if it’s baby talk or if he’s really trying to say the word.

He has an affinity for power cords and Kobe’s water bowl which means he’s learning what “No” means now. He’s been scolded enough to know what it means. If he heads that way and touches the bowl, all we have to do is say “No” and his bottom lip protrudes into the cutest little pouty lip. At that point, it’s hard not to pick him up and just hold him. It’s precious.

Last night we were watching him play in his little play area. You could see the wheels turning as he picked up each toy. Then he rolled over and looked at his book case. He just stared. It’s fun wondering what he’s thinking. He really is a thinker. When we go some place new, he takes his time taking it all in. No smiles or anything for the first 10 minutes or so. He’s got to take it in.

But once he’s cool, the fun begins. He makes friends fast with his smile and interaction. The big cheeks help too.

It’s a blast.

But I do miss when I could just hold him. I miss when he wouldn't cry to be let down or crawl away. He’s gotten so big.

Good news is, I’m only about 3 months away from getting to do that again!