Making Memories

I've gotten really bogged down in the time and energy it takes to be a parent to more than one kid.  It's been a frustrating, exhausting six months.  But the last two evenings (ahem...over a month ago...) I had experiences with my big girl that helped me remember why I enjoy being a mom.

On Wednesday night (10/17/12) after I nursed Baby Boy and put him to bed, I asked Baby Girl if she wanted to go take a walk with me.  It was only about 7:20 and she'd been heading to bed around 7:40.  She also took a nap at the sitter that day, so I knew she'd be okay staying up a bit later.  It was gorgeous outside (highs near 80 in late October in Ohio just don't happen very often).  She was really excited and got her Crocs on in record time.

We took a stroll up the sidewalk until we heard a bug chirping.  We stopped to look for it and finally found it and just stood, watching, for a couple of minutes.  I explained how the cricket made its noise and she could see its legs twitching.  We walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, talking about mundane things.  She's getting bigger and I know soon she isn't going to want to hold mommy's hand all the time.  We got down the block and turned back, pausing at our cricket to see whether it was still there.  It was.

When we got back to our house, we sat in the driveway and looked at the stars.  She doesn't get to stay awake long enough to see nighttime very often, so she hasn't had much experience in stargazing.  We talked about the shapes up in the stars and just snuggled on the ground.  It felt so good to hold her close to me and to enjoy being outside in the crisp evening air.  I want to remember what her warm skin felt like against mine and how she felt snuggled in my lap forever.

25 Weeks

At 25 weeks (10/22), I wrote up a quick blurb about what Baby Boy was doing.  Here are the things on my list:

Sitting
Crawling
More teeth?
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Sleep Issues
Drum
---
Expounding upon the list (11/21):

Sitting: He started sitting like a champ right around this time.
Crawling: He can get around at will, but still no traditional crawling
More teeth?: We're pretty sure there are more teeth coming (they ended up poking through 11/16 and 11/19)
Itsy Bitsy Spider: This is the craziest thing.  Baby Boy is instantly calmed by The Itsy Bitsy Spider.  If he's fussy, he will stop and stare at your hands and start his wiggling and giggling.  I don't understand it, but you'd better bet that I use the hell out of it.
Sleep Issues: I think it was at this point that he started waking 4-7 times per night.  It was ugly.  He only wanted Mommy, too.  Ugh.
Drum: When Grandma and Pops visited Gatlinburg, they brought Baby Girl back a little drum like Native Americans use.  Well, my dad discovered that Baby Boy liked to put it into his mouth when he was teething. He'd put one side into his mouth and we beat the other side with the mallet to make it vibrate on his gums.  It looks hilarious and we end up with a ton of drool down the side of the drum, but it makes him happy :)

6 Months (and 3 weeks...)

Baby Boy,

I don't know if it's possible for me to write even a sentence to you without crying.  My heart swells with joy and love whenever I think of you.  When I see your beautiful smile (which you give me whenever you see me), I want to pick you up and snuggle you like crazy.  And that, of course, would make you squirm and whine because you're just not a snuggler.  Thank God for your sister because I can't imagine not having at least one kid who snuggles!

------
I wrote that first part one day after you turned 6 months old and am just now, when you're 6 months and 3 weeks old (11/21/12), getting back around to revisiting this blog post.

What I really want to say, Little Man, is that you are loved.  You are SO loved.  And I haven't been blogging because I've been soaking up the essence of YOU.  You make me happy all the time.  Your smile lights up the room and my heart.  You delight in the smallest things like playing with a sock or seeing twitching fingers, ready to get you.  You love to squeal and wiggle and I could play with you and just BE with you all day every single day.

So while I'm not writing a lot, it's because I'm spending time with you.  I love being your mommy and if I could guarantee that every baby I ever have could be just like you, I'd have another ten.

Love,
Mommy