When you have a child one of the most wonderful things to experience are baby's firsts. His first smile, his first steps, his first birthday. It seems as if there are a million firsts that baby goes through in that first year of life!
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| This is Orion at 3 weeks old. My very first baby and his first photo shoot! | | |
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| Here he is at 6 months old roasting his first marshmallow on his first camping trip |
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| This is his first birthday |
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| Here is his first outfit that he loved to wear, he would pick out that vest everyday! |
As Orion grew, his firsts changed. Once he hit his first birthday they were fewer and farther between. He had his first day of school, his first overnight with a friend. It was bittersweet as he was hitting his firsts, he was also doing some of his lasts. Like the last time he needed me to brush his teeth. The last time he cried in the night for his mama. The last time he needed to hold my hand to cross the street. He grew so quickly it was hard for me to keep up.
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| This was Centauri and Orion getting ready to go to the park for the first time without mama there to keep them safe. |
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Once again, at 16, Orion is doing some firsts! Today, December 4th, 2014, he is going on his first airplane ride! He is going to Hawaii for the first time and going to get to see the ocean the first time in his life!
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| His first airplane ride! |
It was so difficult to drop him off this morning. It felt like I was letting go of so much. It felt like it was the last time he would really be a kid. My baby was all grown up. He didn't need me to walk him in (although I am happy to say that he wanted me to), he didn't need me to hold his hand.
Parenting is about raising a child to become an adult. It is about helping a child to tell right from wrong and give them that moral compass they can rely on. It is about letting your child practice becoming a grown up over and over in safety, knowing that you have their back. It is about letting go when they are ready and allowing them to do their firsts on their own.
As I let go this morning, I realized that my first baby was now going to be my first adult. He still has some practice to do, he still needs the safety of my home, but soon he will be doing some of his lasts again. I can only pray that God has guided mine and Tim's hands enough to have brought him up on the right path. I pray that God will now guide Orion to make the right choices and to be the amazing adult I know he can be.
