The last day of "First"

Today my baby boy turned one.  One whole year old he turned today.  It was a year of firsts; First breath, first laugh, first Christmas, first steps and a monumental first birthday.  We’ll celebrate with our extended family on Saturday, but last night was just a celebration with our little family. 

Sure I wanted to do more. Like actually make a homemade dinner like I did for his two sisters.  A special dinner just for him.  But truthfully, mama was tired and had a searing headache and Bobby wasn’t feeling too well either.  So I fed him some crunchies (his favorite right now) and some of his baby food.  The rest of us got Mexican takeout and he shared my mini chimis with me. 

His sisters played with balloons that I am prepping for his party and tried and tried to steal and successfully play with one before I took them away.  I was afraid one would pop in his face and take out an eye or something.  Like that would really happen, right?  Why not just let the little guy play with something that makes him so extremely happy?  Well he did manage to sneak to the other room and pop a balloon in his face.  He didn’t cry but Bobby still ran over to retrieve the rubber parts before he ingested them.  Ok, so there is danger.

After dinner we all gathered around an iced cookie with a single candle in the middle and sang to him.  He got to eat the cookie and he devoured it.  He shared a little with Julianna.  Bella wasn’t a fan of that kind of cookie so she passed.  Then we settled in to watch some brainless TV and snuggle.  I fed him a bottle, that thankfully he let me hold for him, and I sang him Happy Birthday quietly and then You Are My Sunshine.  Just like I had on the night he was born.  And just like on the night he was born he closed his eyes and settled into my arms and I could feel him at peace.  Then the doorbell rang!

We had a surprise visit from the grandparents who came to wish him a Happy Birthday and to show me some incredible pictures of Bobby on his 1^st birthday. Let me tell you. I would not know the difference between the two.  Little Robert looks so much like his dad.  It warms my heart. 

He got his first hair cut today.  Bobby took him to his long time barber and introduced Robert to Barber Shop!  Bobby said he sat there biting on his lollipop and just let the woman cut his hair.  Such a good boy.  And like all first baby boy haircuts, he instantly turned into a little boy.  He sent me a 
text of the after and I started tearing up.  My little baby now a little boy. 

I write this day down in detail because I don’t want to forget our last day of a “first” birthday.  Robert is my baby and he’s also my last baby.  He is my only boy and the only one of my babies who still preferred mama to dada after six months.  He loves when I sing to him.  Especially “You are my Sunshine.”  It quiets his cries almost every time.  He loves to bury his face into my shoulder or neck.  I can feel him take in my scent and it makes me hug him tighter.  He loves to follow his sisters around when they play.  When they are sent to bed, he crawls into their room and tries to play with them by their bedsides.  He is starting to say “mama” or something that sounds like “mama”.  He only says it when he is crying for something, but I’ll take it!  He is walking almost entirely now.  Very rarely will he crawl.  Yet, he hates walking in shoes.  He prefers to go barefoot I guess like most babies learning to walk.  He loves food.  He eats almost everything we eat.  When he is sleepy he likes to cuddle up with his blanket, just like his sisters.  He is a one year old.

A few nights ago he did not want to lie in his crib and this is unusual for him.  He actually likes his crib so I knew this was a special circumstance.  So I took him back to bed with me and we laid there looking at each other and he giggled.  Then he reached out gently and put his hand on my cheek and smiled.  He melts me.  We had a quiet moment right before he turned one and I’ll cherish that. 

 These three kids challenge me every day and I am often frustrated. Then in one instant, completely in love again.  Motherhood is changing for me now.  I have a four, two and one year old and I have to learn to be a mom all over again.  Baby motherhood seems easier now.  You bathe them, feed them, change them and play and love on them.  Now there are many questions asked all day long that I have to answer carefully.  There are extreme tantrums that sometimes come in two different directions and I don’t know how to attend to both simultaneously.  Now, there is a lot of guilt on my end.  But I’m learning to change and grow into this toddler stage of motherhood.  I want to be a mom they can look back on and say, “How did she make things so fun all the time and manage to keep us clean and fed?”  I’m not quite there yet.  I fall short on many things.  But I’m learning.  I’m learning and changing. 

Thank you to my babies who make my life challenging with unexpected days.  Thank you for your hugs and laughs and your “I love you” moments.  Last night was a last of the first birthdays for our little family. 

Preschooler!

This week our little family sent our oldest out into the world.  Tuesday was the first day she has ever left her family members, her safety net and her comfort zone.  I often hear coaches say you'll know what you're made of when you leave your comfort zone.  My little Isabella is a brave, intelligent and friendly soul.  She was a little hesitant when we were getting ready to leave.  I made her a sign, "1st day of Preschool" and she didn't want to hold it up and smile.  But when her little partner in crime, Julianna, joined her she was smiling and making funny faces and holding up that little sign, careful not to mess up the chalk.  I love her and I love that she is her sister and brother's example of courage.  She is showing her two siblings how to go out into the world. 

 

 

When I picked her up that first day, she was smiling and couldn't even wait for me to get her into the car before wanting to show me what she did that day with her two classmates and her teacher, Mrs. Katelyn.  Isabella told me that she read a book about a little raccoon that left it's mama for the first time but the mama kissed its hand before leaving and a little heart remained.  She showed me her craft that went along with that book and then said, "Just like the freckle you gave me, mama!" 

When Isabella was about 18 months i noticed a little freckle on the back of her arm.  Being that she has very minimal freckles (in fact, i don't think she has any other than the one i'm talking about) I told her that I gave her one of my many freckles and put it on her.  That way she can look at it and know that i am always with her.  She'll always know just how much i love her when she looks down at that freckle.  I often point it out to her if we know we are going to be a part for a long time.  I say, "Where's your freckle? It's still there!! See I'm always with you."
My heart was beating fast when she pointed out the correlation of the raccoon's heart shaped kiss his mama gave him and her little freckle that her mama gave her to my attention.  I love that smart little girl so much.  I hate myself when I find myself being selfish or impatient with her.  She surprises me and Bobby everyday. 

I hope she remembers this week anytime she is scared to try new things in life.  I hope she remembers how brave she was and how fun it all turned out in the end. 

Life's a beach

So here is that overdue post i told myself i would write down and never forget.

We took the kids to the beach this summer during our California vacation.  Truth be told, as a kid we always opted for the beach when given the option to tour Disneyland or Sea World.  We loved those places of course, but my family loved playing in the sand and coming dangerously close to dying in the waves of the ocean.  I remember walking into the ocean so far that when i looked back at the beach I was about 75 yards out from our beach blankets and 40 yards to the right.  While walking out I never paid too much attention that the waves were not only pulling me further out from the beach but sending me up the beach as well.  Those waves are crazy.  I loved it.

Its so quiet being out that far.  People look tiny and your world looks miles away.  Then the fear of what else is out here with me? that always had me scurrying back.  But I lived for that feeling.  I want my kids to have the same daring memories that I have.

So it was to my delight that when we arrived at the beach this time, Isabella did not cry and say that the sand was disgusting and demand to be picked up and carried the whole time (an example of our first trip to the beach).  This time, Isabella AND Julianna cried out how disgusting and "eewww" the sand felt in between their toes.  But it was cries of laughter.  Julianna spent the first couple of steps examining each grain going through her toes.  This was her first experience walking in the sand. 

My two city girls were loving it!  They were running and screaming like they do and I was a happy mama.  Smiling girls.  Now to get them to the water.

After we threw our blankets down and situated baby boy with Nana Sarah, we headed straight to water.  Juju was a bit skeptical at first.  I think anyone would be looking out into endless water.  It was cold and Julie shied away.  But when she saw her big sister laughing and running in the foamy water she couldn't resist any longer.  She shot into the water so fast I had to run to catch up to her.  With my camera in hand, I was desperately lunging to grab her hand so she wouldn't fall from the force of the waves.  All while holding my camera above my head trying to keep it dry.

The girls were happy and playing with their cousin Josiah.  Running and screaming from the waves.  I decided to go grab Robert and put his teeny toes in the water.  

Teeny toes in the water is cute. He kept squishing the sand between his toes.  His eyes were big at this new sensory touch.  Graining sand is pretty amazing to a baby boy.

This was his first time sitting up on his own.  I guess he rose to the occasion.  He was more than willing to put in the extra work it takes to hold himself up if it meant he could play with this awesome sand stuff. 

No beach trip is complete without burring someone in the sand.  Josiah was the lucky candidate.  He's such a good sport. 

There was one last thing to do and that was to put our mark on that stretch of beach.  We wrote our names in the sand: Nana, Tata, Nina Tori, Bobby, Nettie, Josiah, Isabella, Julianna and little Robert.  It was a successful day!

...if you're young at heart.

We just got back from a very memorable vacation to California.   We weren't going to do it.  Really we weren't.  But we went for it.  We loaded up our small tribe and spent the day at one of the most magical places.  We met celebrities, soared in the sky on a magic elephant and sang along with children of the world.  We said we should wait for Disneyland for the kids to be a little older and for the two of us to have a little more money.  But we went for it. I'm so happy we did.  Now for a mess of pictures!

Kids, guess where we're going? Disneyland!!!!

Happy kids

After this ride i hear, "Bye choo choo, bye!" from my Juju.

Ah, so amazing. Something about a gorgeous man with cute babies.

Bobby scored major points with the girls when he surprised them with these magical hats.  He even got one for little Robert, which in turn, scored major points with me!

 

 

Her favorite.

Our love story.

Behold, celebrities!!!!

It's a small world. Still a big hit for kids!

 

I'm a little obsessed with hot air balloons!

Our best attempt at a family photo!

 There were lots of smiling faces like above.  My heart was over filling!! Such a great, great day!

A stop at Minnie's house! I couldn't wait to show them her little cottage!

 Meeting the big man himself, Mickey!  Bobby said they were the last group let in because Toon Town was closing for the night. The girls were in awe!

 Lots of cotton candy!

So lesson learned in parenthood: Go! Just do it. Forget about the cost, the toddler meltdowns and the long lines. This day was indeed magical! Thank you for the memories, Disneyland!

Part II of our California vacation coming up soon!