A year ago, things were very different

Tristan's first birthday is fast approaching and excitement is starting to build. No, I cannot believe this time has come. What could be more important than the very first birthday? Nothing. The first of everything is the most exciting and the first birthday has got to be the greatest birthday. It will be a celebration for not just the baby but for us, being his parents. At 1 year, the baby won't even care but the day will be captured on camera and in video so that one day he will be able to look back and see that we made a very BIG deal out of his first birthday :) He will love us even more and think we're cool and awesome parents :)

It's crazy to think about what life was like just a year ago. I was extremely pregnant and so uncomfortable. I had just stopped working full time in October and we started shopping for baby things. I remember being so anxious to have the baby because I was so tired of being pregnant. My husband and I walked in the dark and rain after he got home from work every day. It was the pits. It was also the time I was trying to figure out when I could return back to work. At the time, I thought I would be ready to go back after 2-3 months. And of course, it was just the 2 of us, living a quiet life. Then came the labor and birth. OMG. Then followed the 1st month, then the 2nd month, then the 3rd month. OMG. I am so very glad not to be there anymore! I have never experienced anything harder in my life. Now fast forward to present day. Ahhhh... :) Our situation has improved 200%! Well, maybe not 200% but I'm just throwing a number out there to say that things are so much better now.

A baby changes everything. Really, it does. In every way imaginable, plus more. The good changes? Well, we have a baby and he puts smiles on our faces every day. We get to witness a miracle and watch him grow. We discovered a new kind of love: the love for your own child. We are now more empathetic towards other parents and more forgiving when we see or hear about difficult children. We became less selfish and appreciated life a little bit more.

But of course, every parent can also tell you that you have to make a lot of sacrifices and parenting is also super hard. When things get hard, I always tell Jean-Louis that it could be worst. That eases the pain a bit and helps make us feel a little more grateful. Sometimes, I don't think we have the right to complain since we got to enjoy seven great years of marriage just the two of us. But then again, we were so used to our old lifestyle that it was hard to give it up completely.