There are moments of motherhood that drag all too slowly (“How many more minutes until nap time?”) and then there are the moments that come all too quickly and remind you how fleeting childhood, growing up, and life in general are.

I remember when Henry needed to nap on our chests–every single nap, five times a day–for the entire first three months of his life. My dear friend Sarah reminded me in the moment that it would be fleeting and that we should cherish it while we had it.

And then there was the bitter-sweetness of co-sleeping. There’s nothing like the most tender, vulnerable little being nestled up against your

This is the last month of your monthly letters and photographs. After this, we are moving to a yearly schedule. You are growing so fast!

What has this month brought to us?

One of your favorite activities is reading. You love to flip through your board books and make low, gurgling noises as you “read.” You also hand us the books over and over to read them to you. You also read a lot when you’re sitting on the toilet. It’s adorable and melts my heart every time.

You love pulling on fan cords (our new house has a lot of fans). If we ask you where

Dearest Henry,

I know you’re not likely to remember your first birthday party, so I wanted to jot down some notes for you about how it went. You had fun! We spent time doing your favorite things: playing in the backyard, hanging out with Hoss, and eating.

We had seven guests: Grafton (who is one month older than you) brought his mom (Leslie), dad (Daniel), and sister (Cassie). We met them at the silent film at Discovery Green when you were a mere four weeks old. They moved to Austin a couple months before we did. Our good friend, Claire, came. We’ve been friends with her for years. Two of