From infancy to toddlerhood - any day now

Next Sunday is my one-year anniversary of being in Appleton (I have a party scheduled).

Today I was at a cafe at lunchtime and saw a lady with a little blond boy by her side and an even littler blonde girl on her lap. She was feeding them and trying to eat her own lunch as well, all on her own, and they were all so entangled and on top of each other physically that it was like one multi-headed, multi-grasping-fingered blond animal.

I thought about having two kids who were so little, thought about just the logistics of making sure neither one wandered off and ran into danger and both were always fed and more or less clean. And thought again, as I have thought before, of the commitment - after a whole year of raising a little human baby, all you get to show for it is a one-year old.

Reflecting on the fact that I've lived here almost one year, it occurred to me to think about the developmental maturity of my duration in Appleton. It's eating solid food now, has a few cute little teeth in the front, can say about 60 words, but probably has yet to take its first steps.

First steps coming up - stay tuned as I update the Baby Book, here.