Addison rested against my chest bone, his legs are so much longer than I remembered. As I walked back and forth to lull him into a deeper sleep, I wondered what life would be like for him, for me.

Already, he has shown me so much. And strong. He’s already survived major surgery and resolved four other medical problems without a further stitch. I admire his fortitude, his strength.

I try not to plan out his journey and leave that up to him. These are areas a mother can get into trouble. I find the more I step back from my children and allow them the space to crawl, roll, fall and get up on their own, the more the find their own strength.

The other day, I was showing Coco how I could whistle - really loud - with my two fingers in my mouth. Addison sat mesmorized. He studied me. I whistled again. Then, he stuck his fingers into his mouth and made a blowing sound. Coco laughed. I whistled again, and he copied me again. This time we all laughed.

Addison will conquer the whistle, for he’s already done so much. And maybe, I’m the really lucky one because I get to listen.