2

our arie daniel is two!  he is so curious and precious, we always call him 'little man' cause he really does look like a mini man, with his cute hair and way of walking with his hands behind his back.  he just melts my heart.  but as any parent to any child will tell you, my heart aches for him too.  it aches to watch my developmentally delayed son still so wobbly on his feet since he has only just learned to walk, when his peers are running and jumping and climbing.  while other two year olds are accumulating so much new vocabulary it's hard to not constantly wonder why he has yet to say 'mama' or 'ball',  or even more, not know why his perfectly formed little mind is struggling to connect to make words in his precious little mouth.  when he learns something that comes so easy to other children, my heart wants to burst with joy, yet it also holds worry and fear and the unknown.  and though i realize there is much unknown with any of our children; this is a different kind.  i trust that God trusted him to us, to be his parents, to love him unconditionally, to nurture and teach him and model Christ to him; to share in his joys and in his struggles.  he is a gift, and he has changed me for the better.  he has changed our whole family.  there is no better smile than his.

 just a little nostalgia, for his mama's sake.....