One more minute...

Tonight I rocked you to sleep, little man. It's been a long time but I just wanted to hold you extra long today. As your eyes got heavy and you cuddled in a little closer I held you tight and you peacefully fell asleep in my arms as I rocked us both in your rocking chair. I gazed at you thinking "I want just one more minute" and one minute soon turned into 20. I always want just want one more minute with you. I can't seem to get enough.

As we near the end of our first Summer together, I am wanting just one more minute. One minute to really soak up all that your first Summer has meant to me. Your first time swimming in a lake, first time on a boat, first time skipping naps for walks around Greenlake, first road trip to Ocean Shores, first time in an airplane, first time at Disneyland, first time at a wedding,  first time on a ferry, first time camping. For your first summer, I'll say you were pretty darn adventurous. I wouldn't trade one of those memories for anything. You made my first Summer as your mama a dream come true.

You have been an amazing baby. 6 teeth coming in at once and you haven't changed your cheery attitude. The way stranger's interact with you, it's like they see a glimpse of what I see everyday and want just one more minute with the boy who has something the world desperately needs.

You went from rocking on all 4's to crawling super fast, getting up the stairs, standing and walking while holding things...from 0 to 60 before we could even blink. It's amazing to watch your personality come alive.  I am sitting here trying to soak it all in. How you went from a helpless baby to a little boy on a mission. I am loving who this little boy is becoming, and yet want one more minute with my baby. Or maybe 20.

So while we start to say goodbye to Summer, I am just as excited to introduce you to your first Fall. The smells of pumpkin and spices and candles and cute boots and scarves and colorful leaves and comfy jammies and mugs of tea and soft blankets and pies and crisp, clean air, and fireplaces, and the scent of holidays just around the corner. Add a warm, cozy baby on top of all that and it sounds like a slice of heaven to me.

So it's a little bittersweet to say goodbye to your first Summer, but I have to say it has simply been whimsical. Us and you and friends and family. My memories of this Summer blur together and look like ' A Starry Starry Night'...a painting streaked with bright colors and swirls. It's you, Jace. You are my swirls.