I was just switching out the baby’s clothes as he has moved from 3-6 months to 6-9 months. It gets me every time I do a clothes rotation, especially that first year because it’s tangible proof that time moves quickly. This time it’s extra poignant because it’s the eve of our oldest’s ninth birthday. That’s one year away from the double digits which means I’ve been a mom for almost a decade!!!

I know I say it in every birthday blog but I’ll say it yet again: wasn’t it just yesterday that I held this boy for the very first time? Wasn’t I just rotating his clothes from 3-6 months to 6-9 months? How is it possible that he now is almost to my shoulder and can ride his bike with no hands? And I call him Encyclopedia Man because he has an answer for every question and even for every unasked question. We all laugh about how he speaks an entire paragraph before taking a breath, and he sounds like an audiobook with the emphases and grand vocabulary and the dramatic pauses he weaves into conversations.

This boy’s birthdays are unique for me since they mark the birth of motherhood in my own life. Before children, I thought being a mom was as straightforward as babysitting: you feed and clean and entertain the children and tuck them snugly in bed before the parents come home. But this little guy and his siblings enlightened me to what babysitting does not – that parenting considers the whole person of the child and not simply covering the physical care for a few hours. Parenting is about teaching the child how to best live while figuring out how to do that myself.

Here we are, nine years later, halfway to eighteen, and I stand fascinated by this young individual. He reads as easily as he breathes, absorbing every word and recounting them to me later on. He weaves intricate stories of his own and brings them to life with his toys. He cares for nature with tenderness and is loved by all his pets. He is revered by his younger brothers (his sisters view him with a mixture of tolerance and good humor). And most honorable of all, he values integrity.

While this boy of ours is always ready for a good joke, the seeds of quality character that were sown from infancy have taken root in his young heart. Whenever he is listening to a story or life situation, he is quick to advocate for the underdog or detail how he would approach a given dilemma. He recognizes the necessity of spending time with Jesus every day and often ponders deep spiritual matters. I am so thankful that he doesn’t delay to make things right when he knows that his actions have created a rift between us and he doesn’t hesitate to offer me forgiveness when I ask for it.

One of our favorite pastimes is to watch home videos from the early years. We laugh about the silly antics and sigh wistfully over how cute those chubby cheeks were. And how darling he was when he talked. I distinctly remember thinking that those years would linger. But they didn’t. They moved as swiftly as this boy talks. Those videos are a reminder that change happens before our very eyes and we can’t take a moment for granted. And so, as we embark on another year together- me as a first time mom to him and he as a burgeoning young gentleman- I stand in awe of the miracle of life. He is brimming with potential and I have the joy of helping him flourish every single day.