Reflections on our busiest year ever...

There are two pages in Jack's baby book where Rob and I can each write a letter to Jack. Both pages are empty. I have started writing a letter about 20 times but I just haven't seemed to be able to finish one. I'm not sure if it's the lack of sleep or the fact that I have lost all of my "big words" by spending my days with someone who doesn't speak, but I need to buckle down and cross this project off my to-do list. I'll start here with another of my famous Top 10 lists to get my brain cells firing again.

Top 10 ways my life has changed since Jack joined our family

1. I can now get ready for the day in 15 minutes -- flat!
2. I have left the house with vomit in my hair, spit up on my clothes and drool on my face more times than I can count. This is a huge change from my former self who wouldn't go to the grocery store without lipstick.
3. I have taken more pictures this year than I have ever taken in my entire life. I have paid Shutterfly to print up 99% of them. I have 6 photo albums of our family pre-Jack (17 years) and 5 photo albums of our family post-Jack. I don't know if this is sad or funny...
   
4. My entire "cool" music collection is gathering dust but I now know all of the words to "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush," "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Rock-a-bye Baby" and "Five Little Monkeys (Jumping on the Bed)."
5. I no longer have cable TV. I used to love TV. A lot. Now, I watch more Sesame Street than Jack does. I am also asleep most nights before the prime time shows are over. Sometimes before they even start...
   
6. I now have an entirely new group of friends. Some of my old friends (sans kids) just don't get it, others have moved away and the rest of them want to stay out past my bedtime.
   
7. Rob and I used to have long, lingering dinners during which we talked about anything and everything for hours. Now, I eat a sandwich standing up while Rob feeds Jack his dinner and tries to eat his own sandwich in between Jack's bites of pureed sweet potatoes and yogurt.
8. I don't work anymore. And by that, I mean that I don't get paid anymore.
9. I haven't seen the inside of a gym, a movie theater or a "real" restaurant in 11 months. That's got to change!
10. Even through the spit up and the lack of sleep and the tears and heartbreak of leaving Jack at the hospital for almost 4 weeks, this has been the busiest, most exciting and most wonderful year of my life. I wouldn't change a thing and I can't imagine life without him.