By Pamela Brownstein
This time last year, my husband and I were counting contractions and eagerly anticipating the arrival of our first baby. Then out came Sanford Wolfe Brownstein, and our lives have never been the same. To say that he brings joy to everyday would be an understatement. He fills our days with love and laughter; he is such a sweet, adorable baby who is turning into a little boy right before our eyes. It’s been an incredible year of growing — not just for him, but for us too as we stumble through and slowly figure out our roles as parents and caring for a tiny human.

During the holidays, we traveled to cold, snowy Ohio to visit my husband’s family. One night after Wolfe had gone to bed and the adults sat talking around the fire, my mother-in-law asked what grade we would give the past year. The question made me pause, and as I pondered my response, I replayed memorable scenes in my head: I saw the way Wolfe’s face lights up when you get him out of his crib in the morning. Or the way he likes to burrow under blankets and play hide-and-seek. And I heard his cute little voice (he’s very chatty) over the baby monitor chanting “Dadadadada” or “Mamamama.” I saw the beautiful beaches of Rio during our trip to Brazil, and I saw the way Daniel tenderly tucks Wolfe into bed every night and kisses him on the forehead.

I was able to overlook the constant fatigue or the stress of trying to work while feeding a baby at the same time or the late nights when Daniel had graduate classes after his own 9 to 5 job. These tough times paled in comparison to the good, so I gave 2012 the grade of solid A.

Overall, it has been an amazing journey, one I wouldn’t trade for anything because I think it has made me appreciate so many things I didn’t know before.

In fact, we enjoyed our venture into parenthood so much, we decided to see what happens the second time around. That’s right. Baby Brownstein 2.0 is expected to arrive in August. So here’s to another year of the excitement and exhaustion that accompanies bringing a new life into the world.
And Wolfe gets the best gift of all: The chance to be a big brother.