Leaps, Bounds, Milestones, and Other Thoughts, Oh My!

So, I've just realized that I haven't posted an update on my daughter in a long time, not since she began crawling.  Visiting relatives over Christmas, a crazy work life balance, and a hundred other distractions have gotten in the way.  Looking at the photos on my phone I realized just how much my daughter has grown in the last couple of months.

For starters Isabelle had her first taste of a snow storm on January 12th when we received 15.5 inches (39.37 cm) of snow accumulation over the course of 36 hours.  My little daughter thought the snow was just absolutely the BEST thing ever, like a new toy, but cold, and magical as it turns to water in your hand.  As I began the couple hour long process of moving the snow off of the cars and drive way my wife Jessica brought our daughter outside to see the snow.

On Thursday of this past week Jessica and I looked up and found Isabelle grabbing the table with one hand and standing more steady than she has.  Her legs are getting stronger and I'm sure at this rate she'll be walking very soon!  So far it would seem that at only 9 months she's a little ahead of the game on milestones.

Some days it seems like I can't quite keep up with how fast she's growing and developing.  Sometimes, I'm sure, people might think I'm crazy and wonder how I plan to give time to my family and to my hobbies.  Sometimes, I think I am crazy taking on a lot.  However, I would not trade it for anything else in the world.  I do miss my "old life" as it had a lot of great memories and I still keep in contact with my friends, but I've learned that this life is exciting too, and I know I have the support of my old life.  But I really don't consider it my old life.

In retrospect I consider the adventure of getting married and starting a family as just another chapter in the book of my life.  It's something that I've noticed some people think is an "end of your life" moment, however I think that assertion is very short sighted.  I still have just as active and fulfilling of a life now as when I was in college or even when I spent a short time as a Catholic seminarian.  As I look to the year ahead, I'm excited to see how my family will grow and develop, and to see what friends I can run into.