First Birthdays

I keep reading
that first steps
and first birthdays
turn a baby
into a toddler.
My one-year-old
is still a baby;
my baby.
He cuddles,
crawls,
cruises,
climbs stairs,
nurses,
eats people food,
laughs,
cries.
He loves
balls,
animals,
outside,
Bubble Guppies,
mama,
daddy.
He's had
two haircuts,
seven teeth,
and one birthday.
I don't care
if he's thirty
and thriving.
He's always,
in part,
my baby.