The scent of puppy dogs and macaroni mingle in my son’s hair as I gently sway back and forth, quickly putting him to sleep. My baby is one! What a landmark we have reached. I carefully lay him in his crib to sleep for an hour, possibly two, surrounded by a menagerie of hanging crib toys, over stuffed teddy bears, singing lambs and a blue bird who chirps when its tail feathers are squeezed. As an infant, his small little legs crossed at the ankles, as they still do, and his sweet arms bunched to his little body. Now, sprawled before me is not a timid little baby, but a 22-pound toddler, a little man with quick feet and a big mind of his own.

I sort through his clothes as he sleeps, weeding out the ones he has just gotten too big for! I mentally size them up, imagining if they will fit the monstrous toddler I am now comparing them to. I sit reminiscing about the tiny tot to whom they once belonged, hardly believing that only one year has passed but we have already gone through two tons of clothes! The sweet cries, adorable smile and loving grasp of my baby, have transformed into a little voice, a toothy grin, and the firm tug of a toddler. Through all his milestones, he has constantly been growing and reaching out to the world in which he lives. Exploring and enjoying every minute, with each memorable moment Matthew gains knowledge, insight, and a deeper urge to explore even more. With each landmark in his tiny life, he has matured, taking what we’ve taught him and what he inadvertently somehow knows and merging them into one, he has continued on his journeys as a great explorer. Yes, my son is an adventurer, an explorer; he lives to discover.

Balls: bigger than him, smaller, blue, green, swirled, even a Bob-the- Builder ball are by far his favorite toys. Yet, the fish tank is an entire underworld of endless amusement which beckons our precocious toddler’s hand to burst into the underwater realm and wreak havoc on the unsuspecting tetras and angelfish that stare timidly whenever the one year old force storms by. Balls bounce away, however, and the fish eventually get boring, so, in all actuality, the couch would have to claim fame as Matthew’s favorite domain. The sofa is a great mountain to climb, a pillowy peak to conquer, waiting to be bounced on, chewed on, and stepped on with sticky grape juice feet. The pillows are giant boulders, hiding fascinating objects to be discovered. The remote, a pacifier, another pacifier, and still one more, "Go Dog Go," and even a Clifford-the-dog size five shoe, only one mind you, lay piled under the boulders at various times, expertly placed by none other than the adventurer himself. The objects wait, hidden, just so that he can discover them later, always thrilled and thoroughly shocked to find them as his laughter fills our home.

And amid these antics, I must ask myself, who has taught him this? Exploring, jumping, climbing, hiding, crawling, seeking, laughing, finding? Is it some infant 101 class in which he enrolled while we thought he was just taking a long nap? Is it from Dad, the natural explorer and adventurer who derives great pleasure from throwing our baby much too high in the air? Or is it from Grandpa, who has created a fantastic game of scaring Matthew and causing them both to burst into cheery laughter? One thing is for sure, it certainly isn’t from me! Or is there some innate notion that young boys have, instilled in them, that drives them to this stereotypical yet so naturally common boy behavior? My husband and I don’t regularly jump on the couch, climb the cushions, or hide things under the pillows, but somehow this has become one of Matthew’s favorite nighttime activities.

How wonderful to think that little boys innately want to explore! It is their God given nature, to explore, to discover, to be active, and yes, even to conquer! How thrilling it is for us parents to watch these sweet notions come leaping out of the little lives developing before us. To watch him play his made up game is fascinating, incredible! It reveals a deeper sense of logic and awareness of action and reaction. There is a lot going on in that little head of his. He hides things yet he knows where they are. He teeters on the edge, but he is aware that he could fall. Already, he has learned quite a few things in life, things we have taught him, things we haven’t taught him, things he has discovered on his own, for he is an adventurer, an explorer.

That this child before us now, this sweet baby yet not quite a baby will be in the world making big, very big decisions one day is a sobering thought. Like all children at sometime in their lives, he too will be exploring more seriously, discovering new and startlingly real adventures, things of great importance. Matt and I strive constantly to be aware that this tiny explorer will be discovering much more one day. We will have to let go. And when we do, we will pray fervently that we have prepared him efficiently to be a dedicated, focused, and successful explorer, to make the right decisions, to be honest, open, and to remember to whom he belongs. It is solely up to us, his parents, to make sure he has all the proper equipment packed and stored, ready to respond to any situation that comes before him, ready to decide with confidence where his new journey will take him.

Right now, I'm glad Matthew is safe in the confines of the couch, exploring, always under the watchful and protective eyes of his loving parents. Yet I know this will not always be. But until that day comes, until that moment of testing arrives, you can find me and my son playing on a mountain of great hopes, exploring every inch of upholstery imaginable, and burying treasures under the boulders, all in the comfortable cushions of our living room.

Submitted by Katie Long, NC