Feliz Cumpleanos, Mr. Gokey...

Dear Gokey,

I knew when I had kids that they would grow up, but it still seems to catch me by surprise when another year rolls around.  Today you join the ranks of the Terrible Two-year olds...though, I am pretty sure you have solidified your membership long before today! :)  So, in my annual tribute to my littlest man, let's take a little stroll down memory lane.

Ahhhh...two years ago today.  At this moment I was exhausted, I believe I was trying to sleep through contractions that just wouldn't go away.  They had started the evening before and I told your dad, though they weren't at all painful, that I just knew that this was it, so if there was anything else he needed in the hospital bag, he should pack it before bed.  We had a failed trip to the hospital in the middle of that night and we were sent home at 6 am because there was no progression, but I still knew I would be holding you in my arms before long.  Mother's intuition usually doesn't fail!  So...I was napping...kind of.  We had a short appointment with the OB later in the morning where there was a little progression and he commented that he would probably see us in the middle of that night...I still knew it would be sooner.  Around noon, Daddy came in and woke me up to eat some lunch.  He made me a sandwich and I sat on my Yoga ball at the table to eat.  That's when the real deal hit.  I forced my sandwich down between intense contractions, knowing this would be my last meal until you arrived.  After lunch, Dad helped me downstairs and filled our big bathtub so I could soak.  I sat in there a LONG time while he and your brother played outside the bathroom.  It was a comfort to hear X-man's giggles and squeals and I couldn't wait to add another unique laugh to my little brood.  After my super soak, Dad helped me out of the tub and I told him to call Grandpa Moose to come over and hang with X-man so we could go back to the hospital...I knew I wouldn't be turned away this time.  I was right!  I was admitted and after having to change rooms several times due to odd things like heavy machinery jackhammering and beeping right outside of my birthing suite window, we were finally settled in.  Aunt Adie and Nana came to keep us company, but mostly kept each other company as Dad and I walked up and down the hallways for a couple hours, only stopping to monitor your steady little heart beat.  Only took a couple of hours and a brief bout of pushing for your squirmy little body to slip into this bright, beautiful world!  Your daddy called it weeks ahead of time.  He knew you would be born on Cinco de Mayo because of all of the mexican food I ate during my pregnancy...he must have known what he was talking about! :)  You came out so alert, beautiful and HUNGRY!  There is truly nothing like the moment I got to hold you in my arms for the first time.  Though we had a room full of doctors, nurses and family who witnessed your arrival, for a few perfect minutes it was just me and you.

A boy and his dog...

Fast forward two years now...it's hard to believe you were ever that tiny!  You are still a little guy for your age, but you don't let that hold you back.  Afterall, you have to keep up with your big brother!  You are definitely a Momma's boy, which I am absolutely OK with, and you have a snuggly, affectionate side like no other.  You are a talker and, though it doesn't always come out like you want it to, you have very little problem communicating.  You are quick to hand out "I love you's", "please's" and "thank you's" to my delight.  You have big brown eyes that I could almost fall into...people comment on them everywhere we go, but you don't seem to notice or care.  Just like your momma, you have developed a true love for animals.  You are a little wary of the larger livestock type animals, but if it is canine or feline, you are magnetically drawn.  Your very favorite furry friend, though, is our Stella dog.  You love her and she loves you and the time you have spent in your short 2 years climbing on, snuggling with and lovingly torturing her most definitely outweighs the amount of time you have spent in slumber (not that that means a lot).  Your very best friend, however, is your big brother...I hope that it is always like that.  There is nobody cooler than X-man and you will attempt to repeat anything he says, complete any acrobatic feat he performs and get into any trouble he suggests...I adore the two of you together.

You told me you were just resting...

On the flip side, you have a stubborn streak rivaling nothing I have ever experienced!  At a mere two years of age I seriously think you have mastered the eye roll, and I expect I will see that expression for many years to come.  The attitude that you can wear is almost humorous...it takes everything in me to remain stern when all I want to do is giggle at the little man that stands before me so defiant and a whopping 32 inches tall.  You are very emotional, and dramatic, but I love that about you...nobody can perfect the staggering fall to the floor, resting your forehead on the carpet in obvious distress like you have.  Your daddy may not be quite as dramatic, but one of the things I love about him is that he doesn't hold anything back...I hope you keep that quality as well.

I just helped your tearful little self into bed for a much needed nap and it took everything in me to make you stay there.  You don't know how much I wanted to spend the next couple of hours hugging you and reading you the same 14-word-total board books we have recited over the last couple of years.  But, alas, you must rest up for the celebrations to come.  I love you to pieces, little man.  Thank you for bringing your offerings of joy, chaos, laughter and love to this little family.  Happy Birthday!!!!

Such a little man...where did my baby go?

Luv,

Momma :)

The Birth of a Mommy...

Dear X-man,

I am having a hard time grasping that I have already been a mother for 3 years.  Or should I say, that I have  only been a mom for 3 years.  It's quite the conundrum.  It has all gone by in such a flash, but at the same time, it is hard to remember life before you!  Let's see...this day, 3 years ago was a monumental one for your daddy and me.  It was a day of anxiety, excruciating pain and the most blissful high I have ever known...all in the span of 10ish hours!  The moment you slipped into this world, there was so much commotion--nurses gasping over your lengthy eyelashes, monitors beeping, your daddy cheering to me over the feat that had just been conquered--it all faded when you took your first little breath and those first sweet, squeaky newborn cries escaped from your little body.  Your dad snipped your umbilical cord (like a pro), grinning from ear to ear with pride and they plopped your gray little self onto my chest and I watched your skin turn pink with each little breath you took as I examined each little finger and toe and double checked to make sure that the sonograms were not wrong and that you were, indeed, a little boy! :)  During my pregnancy with you I spent far too much time watching these baby shows all over television because I had this unstoppable desire to soak every tidbit of information in about pregnancy, childbirth and parenting.  During one of these episodes, I remember a midwife saying something along the lines of, "in that first moment when baby opens his eyes and looks into the face of his mother as she gazes back--it's in that tiny moment that, just briefly, you see the face of God."  She must be right, because there's just no other way to describe the sheer magnitude of that moment.

So...that is how I became a mom!  It was impossible at that time to even imagine what the next 3 years (and beyond) would bring and just the mention of the future and trying to envision a "3 year old" seemed so far off!  Yet, it has flown by!  You are quite the little man and such a first child!  You love a task and are eager  to help in any way that you should be allowed, especially if it involves Dad's tools.  You have developed quite the tidy nature and truly hate to be dirty (unless, of course, getting dirty was the mission) and must always have a napkin when you are eating and are extremely bothered by messes.  Perhaps that is why, as a 1 year old, your favorite toys were a broom and child-sized vacuum cleaner.  You are a little bundle of "go" and have kept me busy from the time you started crawling at 6 months to this very day.  You have a laugh that is extremely contagious and even strangers find it difficult to stifle a smile in passing when you are having a giggle fit.  You have become so caring and empathetic in your "old" age.  If I happen to stub my toe as I tidy up the living room, you immediately ask if I am OK and are quick to hand out hugs and kisses to alleviate any lingering pain.  Though, you weren't sure about him in the beginning, you adore your little brother and are pretty great at sharing toys, dogs, parents and living space with him.  Your love for him becomes especially evident if you feel like his safety is threatened in any way.  At the mere suggestion that I take him tubing behind Papa's boat, you backed him into a corner and attempted to hold all adults at bay with an outstretched hand and pleadings of "NO!"  When that failed and he and I were in the tube behind the boat, you reminded Papa the entire time to "go really really slow."

You are, of course, 3 years old now, and even this preceding year has taught us that as sweet as you can be, there is a true opposite to this sweetness that you have very real possession of.  You are a tough kid, and most often seem unfazed by most bumps, falls and scrapes, but when the pain is real, you make sure that we are aware of it with a scream that any horror film starlet would be jealous of.  All in all, though, you are the first of my two greatest masterpieces and the source of more pride than any well-paying career or accomplishment could provide.  Thank you for teaching me this...before you, I always thought I wanted to juggle a career and motherhood.  It was your tiny, amazing existence that helped me discover that shaping and molding a little human being was what I wanted to do all day, every day, and there wasn't a job out there that could keep my focus from you.  I am forever thankful that we have been given the means to allow me to be with you and your little brother day in and day out for almost all of the last 3 years.

So...that brings us to this day--October 27th, 2010.  Three years old!  We celebrated with our closest family last weekend.  You got everything you ever wished for...lots of spaceships!  You have slept with the spaceship that Nana gave you every night since.  Last night you went to bed and we talked about how tomorrow you would be 3 years old and all of the fun stuff we were going to do.  You woke up a couple of hours later rather sickly.  What timing! :(  So, you slept with me on the couches in the living room pushed up next to each other to give us ample room (since you always seem to end up horizontal in your sleep).  In the middle of the night you woke up feeling so cruddy and I helped to lull you back to sleep and took an extra 30 minutes to just watch you slumber like your Dad and I used to do when you were a newborn and every gas-induced grimace was so adorable.  I haven't been able to do that in such a long time...there may have even been a tear or two from me.  Though it was a restless night, it was so fitting to be able to sleep with my arms around my little boy on the eve of his birth.  Despite your sick little self, we have had a great day.  You got your big boy bike from your Dad and me this morning and you already have it mastered after some major practicing in the basement.  We had a short trip to the zoo and then I told you we could have whatever your little heart desired for lunch...you chose peanut butter and jelly, of course!  Now you have a fever and are having a hard time making a nap happen, so you have spent the last hour bouncing back and forth from the couch to my lap in front of the computer for a quick snuggle with your hot little body.  I love you more than I could ever put into words, little man!  Thank you for the last 3 years and I cannot wait to see what the next year brings...sssslllloooowwwwlllyyy! :)  Happy Birthday!

Love you...

Momma

Two Things...

My Birthday meal...a giant
stack of Mmmmm, courtesy
of Grill-Master J!

1).  We are celebrating my birthday (the big double 3) a few days early today since it is the weekend and we can all be together.  J has the lovely ability of insisting that a birthDAY turns into a birthWEEK.  Not that that is a bad thing, but I kinda feel a little silly with all the fuss.  Birthdays have kinda transformed into a HUGE deal for my little men, but just kind of another day for me...and I am OK with that.  It is nice to be pampered, though! :)  We got up this morning and went out for a big buffet breakfast, shopped for X-man's birthday (it's exactly a week after mine) and then had a relaxing end to our weekend.  I requested loaded burgers for dinner and my man certainly delivered!  It was a meal of awesome yumminess!  Afterward, I was serenaded by my boys with the birthday song (or "dirtday" as X-man calls it) and him singing it to me absolutely melted me from the inside out!  LOVE it! :)

My favorite three beings...responsible for some heavy
birthday spoiling this weekend! :)

2.)  Just a funny tidbit.  Last night J and I had FINALLY gotten the boys to bed (if you have read any of my blog, you know that sleeping is not a strong suit for my kids).  We settled in for a movie, some popcorn and a couple of adult beverages.  Upon removing the popcorn from the microwave, a teensy bit of smoke escaped from the bag and our fantastic, oh-so-sensitive smoke alarm started screaming!  J and I frantically scrambled over each other to try to wave the fumes away to cut the noise off, but in no time all 3 dogs were barking up a storm and freaking out in harmony to their new alarm-friend.  We looked at each other completely defeated and began to debate which of us was going to tag which boy to try to get them back to sleep after they were so rudely shaken from their slumber.  The alarm fell silent and we both sat there...waiting...waiting...waiting.  What?  The silence ensued.  You mean to tell me that my sweet little boys that wake when the toilet across the house flushes 3 hours into their nightly sleep, continue to snooze peacefully through a blaring smoke alarm and 3 barking beasts a mere 20 minutes into dreamland???  I am baffled...happy that the smoke alarms work, I guess, not that they would do any good without me to scoop their little bodies out of their cozy, flaming beds! :)  Someone please explain to me why it has to be so complex...