A Year of Jungle Baby

Zephyr just turned one! The first year of life my son's life has a wild ride; from jungle lodge living, to book tour through the Rocky Mountains, to the bizarre challenges of COVID-19.

My 365 days as a mother has been a profoundly life changing adventure as well. My head is still spinning.

As I reflect on the last year, words simply can’t do it justice. My heart is bursting with love for this little dude! Here are highlights from jungle baby's first year as a Wildpreneur:

I’ve also been moved to tears by these words from Sara Schulting-Kranz (check out her new book, Walk Through This):

To new moms + dads everywhere, may I give you some advice:

Soak in your babies.
Love your children unconditionally + without judgment.
Gaze at them in wonder + remember that with every passing moment, they are getting older.
Hug your child.
Kiss your child.
And always find nights to wander into their room to watch them sleep. There is nothing more beautiful. Even when they are late teens.
Let the dishes go.
Don’t worry about the laundry.
Those windows with fingerprints? It’s called child’s art.
If the house doesn’t get clean or if those errands don’t get run, please don’t fret. Time with your child is far more important .. and there’s always tomorrow for what didn’t get done today.
Play big with your child!
Jump in puddles beside them.
Have a food fight at least once.
Be a part of their nerf gun fights.
Dance out loud together to their music!
Let them stand in line at midnight for a new release of a book.
Or take them to a midnight movie + skip first hour the next day.
Let them skin their knees, fail, + figure out their own mistakes.
Don’t solve all of their problems for them.
Those LEGO’s you’re stepping on? Some day you will miss it. Trust me.
Teach them how to do house chores early in life. And expect a few dishes to get broken, toilets to get clogged, clothes to get ruined + messes to get cleaned up as they’re learning.
Support your childs crazy + outlandish ideas. You never know where they may lead to.
Always be age appropriate honest with your child. Never lie.
Have open conversations + invite questions.
Let them be who they are, not who you think they should be.
And by all means, when they call you out of the blue + ask, “Hey mom or dad, can you ... (?)” and you frustratingly role your eyes, just stop + remember that someday you’ll wish for that call again.
They grow up so fast.
How did this happen? And where did the time go?
There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my three sons. Ever.

I also love this one year celebration video from Mama Natural expert Genevieve Howland: