Your First Year

Nathan,

I remember before you were born. Your nickname was Zelky and you would kick and squirm, but mostly you had the hiccups. Your Aunty Sarah used to say you had to be a boy because boys always wriggle more than girls. We didn’t find out until after you were born, but sure enough, you were a boy. It took us about five minutes to check, but I could tell by your face. You didn’t look like a girl.

On the morning that you were born, we went out to see the sunrise over Perth, and it was beautiful. We spent a while taking photos, even though I was in labour. You were born in the water three hours after we got back home. Daddy and Grammy were both there with us.

After we had a sleep, all the family came to see you. You were the biggest news! Your cousins were so excited. They all had a turn at cuddling you. You weren’t very interested though. You just wanted to sleep.

That’s all you really did for the first few weeks. Sleep and drink. But you had lots of visitors and lots of presents. Everybody loved you. We called you Nathan Ezekiel Toby White. Gift from God, Strength of God, for God is good.

While you were busy sleeping and drinking, mummy and daddy were busy getting ready to move. When you were only 5 weeks old, we went to work on a farm. You were still so little.

You would come with us everywhere we went. We worked with you beside us in your pram, all rugged up. It was very cold. One morning there was even ice all over the ground. We had lots of adventures. We fed our orphaned lambs, and went to see an abandoned gold mine. We even went to the beach, but you were too little to swim. You learnt how to smile on the farm, and you would give us great big grins and pull funny faces.

When you were two months old we moved your cot into your own room, and it was the first time that you slept through! You never gave us a problem with sleep again, other than the few times you were sick.

We went back to Perth after the farm, and you were a bit more awake this time. You read stories and jumped on the trampoline with your cousins. They love you so much! You got so many cuddles. Then we said goodbye to all of our family and made the long flight to QLD.

There was more family waiting to meet you when we arrived in QLD. A lot of uncles and aunties, but no more cousins. You got used to anybody holding you pretty quickly. You loved being carried around, and when you weren’t in someones arms, you would be watching people. Especially when they ate! You loved food. Before you had even tasted a tiny bit of food you loved it. When you were four months old, you would stare at it and everytime some food came near you would open your mouth and cry. Now that you have grown older, you still love food. If you are upset, we just need to offer you something to eat and everything is better.

You loved adventure. Being thrown in the air was the most fun ever, and you were on the go all the time. Always wanting to be involved. You especially love being near motorized things… Motorbikes, skateboards, ripsticks, lawnmowers. Things with sound are the best. You just like risk!

When you were four months old, you learned how to roll over. And then there was no stopping you. You would see something, and then just roll over and over until you got your hands on it. You started sleeping on your tummy then.

When you were five months old, just before church one day, you figured out how to Commando Crawl. You would drag yourself along, and you were actually quite mobile. You could drag yourself from one end of the house to the other in practically no time at all.

We got a house in a little area called Blenheim, and we had a lot of land. You loved to have tummy time outside, or go for walks, or say hello to our chooks, our goat Molly and our sheep Bertie.

You were six and a half months old when you learnt how to crawl properly. We were quite worried that you couldn’t sit properly because I had never seen you do it. You would not sit still in one place for long enough to learn how to sit. When you were nine months old I finally saw you sit. Now you are a professional. I think you have slowed down a little bit.

We played this techno game called Geocaching where we would have to go treasure hunting to find a little box, and you played with us since you were just two weeks old. It’s kind of like a family game that we have. Sometimes we take some of our friends.

We took you on our first camping trip when you were six months old, and then we went camping all the time. We love being outside, and you loved it too. There was this one trip when you were seven months old when it was so windy that our tent broke and fell on top of us, and we had to go and sleep in the car. But you loved sleeping in your car seat so it was okay.

Another time we went on a hike, you were in your sling. But it was pouring down rain and very steep with mud. It was a VERY intense hike. When we got back, you were the only one that was kind of dry. The rest of us were covered in mud, wet to the bone and very very cold.

Funnily enough, as much as you like adventure and being outside, you totally love technology. In fact, you sound just like your dad. You earned the nickname Cable Boy, by chasing Cables, Chewing Cables, Tying yourself up in cables. Any screen, or electronic phone, and you love it. The first role play game you ever did was to “talk on a phone.”

We took you to the beach and you loved the sand, though you weren’t quite so sure of the waves. It took a few times of going for you to finally calm down enough to go for a swim, which is surprising because you love water.

In November, Aunty Jess got married, and we had lots of cool people staying at our house. You got very spoilt. On the day of the wedding, you got food all over your shirt, so you were dressed in a singlet. You were definitely the most underdressed person there.

You had your first Christmas when you were eight months old. You were old enough to unwrap your presents, and get into them before Christmas time. Uncle Ruben bought you a lion that roared, and it was a hit. You would giggle and laugh. We got you a walker, but it wasn’t until we moved house again that you were able to use it properly.

After Christmas in 2011 came the floods. These floods will be talked about for years to come, and you were right there in the midst of it. Well at least the first part. The streets of Forest Hill were flooded. We went wading through town. We were worried that it would flood Grammy’s house. It didn’t that time, but when we were on holidays, it did.

We went to North QLD to meet some more family. We got through when the river was down. It was a long car trip, but you were really good. I guess you had a lot of people to keep you amused. You are the first great grandchild on my parents side, and so everybody was excited to meet you. You are such a happy little guy that everyone fell in love with you straight away. We did so many things on our holiday. We went swimming in rivers, in spas, at waterfalls, in pools and at the beach. We went to the playground, to the markets and to a castle. You enjoyed it all. We got you a floaty that looked like a boat, and you had so much fun floating around. It took you a little while to get used to the cold water, but you were swimming with the fish in no time.

By this time you were crawling all over everything, and pulling yourself up to climb on things. The day that we left you pulled yourself onto a coffee table and broke an ornament!

We weren’t home from Cairns very long before we left for New Zealand. You got your own passport when you were eight months old, and were an international traveller before you turned one! We hired a car and travelled, and camped. We saw so many incredible things. It was relaxing and exciting and amazing. Stuart and Jo’s wedding was beautiful and we spent incredible time with friends. While we were in New Zealand, you cut your sixth tooth!

When we got home, we could Finally turn your car seat around. You were ten months old. We waited that long because you were such a light baby! You actually lost weight from six months to nine months, because all of your baby fat dropped off with your added movement.

It’s not for lack of eating though. You eat like a mad man!

We moved again up to Toowoomba so that I could do uni. It took you a little bit longer to get used to our new house, but once we fixed up the noisy whirly bird above your roof, you were sleeping like an angel. You are such a light sleeper that even our breath can wake you.

You are definitely a mummy’s boy now. I think Daddy is hoping you grow out of it soon, but I kind of like the exclusive cuddles… Shhh, don’t tell daddy.

Now you are turning one! A whole year has passed. You have done so much in the last twelve months. I have had so much fun spending it with you and your daddy. Our family is so blessed. We have seen castles, and forests. So many spectacular waterfalls, so many spectacular friends. You have lit up our lives. We are so thankful that you are our Gift from God. You are a beautiful child. Joyful, gentle and fun. I love you sooo much my son.