9 Months

Dear blog and blog readers,

I am sorry i have been neglecting you so long, but you have to understand,

life is BUSY. and there are so many things that vie for my attention every day.

like keeping everyone alive.

seriously.  hey, so far so good.

then there's secondary things, like wiping the food off the baby's face;

letting the boy outside to pee, 'just like the hannah dog does mommy';

and photography. lots and lots of photography. oh the joy:)

(go HERE to see for yourself, and like away!)

So anyways, here i am, and though this is late its better than never....

9 Months:

Dear Emmitt,

oh how you make me laugh with your sweet smile and those 4 little teeth!

you are trying so hard to take your first steps, but just aren't quite ready, so close.
so often you think you are much bigger and older than you actually are,
trying to do things that you just can't do yet.
keeping up with your big brother might have something to do with it:)

i laugh every time i see you tackle him, drive a dinky,
or attempt to execute skilled manoeuvres while pushing around one of the ride-on vehicles.
the times when you try so hard and get left in the dust hurt my heart though.
i think that's a feeling as a mother i need to get used to,
but i hate it so.

as i watch you grow and learn i am constantly amazed with how quickly you are changing,
how fast you are growing up.

i am loving the precious soul you are proving to be.

On Little Boys, and Motherhood...

yes it's silly. it's a crappy grainy iphone picture. but it might be one of my 

favourite. photos. ever. 

of all time.

because this is what life looks like around here, every morning. 

i love that there is a two year old draped around my neck. i love that he is happy. 

it's there, in his face.

i love this intimacy that is motherhood; the constant state of attending to little bodies. 

the way they smell after a bath, those flushed after-nap cheeks. 

how i can smooth stray locks of hair, pick them up and smother them with kisses whenever i want, 

give nose rubs or tickle tiny tummies... 

at any given moment i am usually in direct contact with a little body. 

a little boy.

sure, sometimes it doesn't always smell great around here. 

sometimes i wish i had less little boy time and more me time. 

and sometimes that little boy is more of a monkey on my back that i care to admit. 

but it's hilarious. 

it's pure and wild and fierce, this little boy love.

and if i don't take these crappy iphone pictures,

how quickly it will all fade.

so i take them,

and stash them away for later, when there are no more sticky fingers in my hair.

for when no one calls me mommy any more.

i take them to remind myself of this time, of these perfect little boys.

because it won't be like this for long....

One Month

Dear Emmitt,

It's hard to believe a month of you has already passed.

A whole 30 (31?) days of eat. sleep. poop.  Of tiny sleepers and tiny toes.

Of baby smells, squeaks, and that distinct newborn cry that is music to my ears.

You are so big already!
It amazes me how much you have grown, and how fleeting that itty-bitty newborn stage is...
And how much faster things seem to be going this time around.

Things aren't always easy, but the best things in life take work.
 You are worth every middle of the night minute, every hourly feeding, and every poopy diaper.



xo, mom.

22 Months

I um, feel like i just did this : ) so i will keep this short and sweet.

As we creep toward the big 2 things are changing faster than ever.

There are moments of clarity, when you totally understand me and i'm like, holy sh*t, you are SO SMART.

Then there are the moments of complete frustration when you blow your top and i struggle not to blow mine.

I am sure both will continue, the light will keep getting brighter and the blow-ups will just get bigger.

That's okay.  While i'm not sure what you are going to throw at me i am always ready to duck.

But i love to watch you learn/eat/sleep/play/read/run, and your many triumphs are mine as well.
You ARE so smart, have gorgeous hair, the best laugh and give the sweetest kisses.
I am wallowing in these last weeks where i have you all. to. myself.

 Now holy crap, could you just sleep through the night already?!?!


xo

21 (and a half) Months

I um, almost forgot to do this post, but figure better late than never. We'll just pretend, okay?

(i blame baby brain for all of my forgetfulness lately!)

21 Months

Talk talk talk talk talk talk talktalktalktakltaltkaltaktalktaltaktlaktkaktll......

Yes honey, we do know that the boat is gone.

It's like you are dying to have a conversation but just don't have enough words yet,

sometimes you just throw really random words out there:

"boat. hair. mommy. nanny. hat. gala(water). car-car. eye. hannah. button."

I guess this is considered a sentence.

Car car car car car car  car car TRUCK car car caracacracarcacarcarracrca......

Hours upon hours of playing with dinkies. 

Line them up, shove them under the couch cushions, run them across the window sill, drive drive drive.

Every now and then you actually even play with the hot wheels track daddy bought you.

Real cars are good too, and you talk about them a lot.

"daddy car-car gone!"

Yes honey, daddy's car is gone, and hey: the boat is gone too.

Play play play play play play play playplayplaypaypalyaplayaplayaplay......

With blocks, cars, trucks, sand, and especially water.

I used to think you went through a lot of clothes when you were new, now between the water and the mud box er, 

sandbox it's like three outfits a day, myself as well.

No honey, mommy is not a towel.

There are times when i feel bad because you are playing by yourself and will come to play with you,

only to have you take your toy to the other side of the room.

Independence suits you.  I will just read my book.

Sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep sleep slepslepsleepsleppslepsplepsleep......

erm, wait a second, NOT!

I remember when you were really little and i thought i had it all in the bag and 

would blame the parents for their kid's crappy sleep habits.  Hopefully i didn't say it outloud.

You have never been a good sleeper.  Lord help me when there's two of you crying at 4 am.

"Mommy mommy mommymommymommymommy mommy!!!!  Milk!"

But you are sweet and happy and amaze me every day with your big smiles and giggly laughs.

If there is one trait your daddy and i passed on to you that means the most it is your ability to laugh.

(and i like to think you got my smile :)

Hold on to that my little.

xo, mom.

Fourteen

Fourteen Months!

Things are changing with you little one,

you're pickier with your food and aren't sleeping very well these days (much to my dismay)!

Whereas once you used to eat almost everything, now your diet seems to consist of grapes, goldfish and milk.  

But hey, at least those goldfish are whole wheat ; )

And while you might not want to go to sleep at bedtime,

you have taken to sleeping in random places, like in the middle of the living room floor, or in your little tent upstairs.  

Cute at the time, not so cute when i want you in your crib at night though.

But hey, i always wanted one of those kids who could just crash out anywhere!
Things change with you so quickly, and this too shall pass...

You are a world traveller now, with your own passport that actually has stamps!

And you've been on more planes than a lot of adults i know.

I love that i have been able to take you so many places, and hope i can show you how magical the world can be!

There is so much to see and do and so many places to be!

I like to just follow you around.  For the most part you don't get into anything too bad,

but you do like to play in the toilet and in the houseplants.

That's okay too, though kinda gross and dirty.
Explore away my little friend.

You have started hauling around your little snuggie everywhere you go.

I really didn't think you'd be one of those guys, but yet again you have surprised me!

You walk around in your diaper (because you are eleven thousand degrees all the time) sucking your thumb and 

snuggling with whinny the pooh. hard to believe, but you are still so cute!

We laugh and play so much!  

I have so much fun with you and am so happy i get to stay at home with you and watch you grow.  

Best choice ever : )

Now go to sleep!!!   heh heh ; 0  

Love, mom.

{ This or That Thursday & Look Who's Snapping }

Dear Jake, On Your Birthday

Just as my due date came and went, an entire year has come and gone.

You are no longer a baby, but a boy.

 A little one to be sure, but a boy nonetheless.

It makes me sad to think about how fast this year of you has gone,

how quickly those hazy crazy baby days went.

And while there were parts I could have done with out 

(think milk gifts re-gifted, all that quality time at 2am, and 

those surprises you had for me that never stayed fully in your diaper...)

there were all of those astounding, heart-bursting, life altering moments that I'll never forget.

I remember watching you struggle to push yourself up, so proud when you succeeded.

Seeing those first wiggles as you tried to crawl,

and those first oh-so tentative steps (not so long ago!)

Listening so hard to hear your first word - of course it was Haaa-naaah.

I love the way your hair looks when it falls over your ears,

or how it catches the wind when we throw you straight up in the air.

Your cheeks, flushed and lined from your sheets in the morning, smiling at me.

And when you walk around in your itsy-bitsy jammies, or fall asleep on my shoulder at night.

Your first smiles blew me away, your giggles do it to me everytime,

and everyday you still take my breath away.

I can't wait to keep growing with you.

xo, mom.

Dear Doctor....

It's been a bit of a whirlwind, 

what with building a big addition and having a baby and all...

but the past 3 ( yes, only three! ) years have been my favorite so far.

And it's all because i finally found me someone who brings me flowers : )

This or That & Texture Thursday

Letters for my Lovelies

I have a confession to make.

I am taking advantage of you guys.

 I am using you to write love letters to my family and to my furniture.

I hope you don't mind, because I plan on continuing to do so. 

It's my way of telling them how I feel, and preserving these little notes for future reference.

Oh, and so when I do bad things I can totally use these as leverage.

{ Everyone needs a get out of jail free card ; }

Now, if only my furniture could read, it would know how much it meant to me.

Here's another one:

Dear Dr. Nails,

you work so hard all day long at your job,

and then you come home and work so hard on our house.

I wish you didn't have to work so hard at all,

but I am glad that you do.

Thank you for making us a beautiful home.

Love, Me.

Dear Jake,

I wish I had a camera behind my eyes

so I could capture endless frames of your sweet silly face;

Memories to pull out, to examine and exclaim over, to cherish.

A million tiny little pieces of you,

pieces I'm sure to forget.

I wish I had a tape recorder in my ears

to record your sounds when you sleep, when you laugh, when you dream;

Something to listen to later on, when these sounds have faded away.

 A copy of your baby voice, 

before all of our real words drown it out.

I wish I could bottle the smell of your baby-fine hair after your bath,

and your baby milk breath, warm on my neck.

Forever feel the weight of you asleep on my shoulder,
and always see your eyes shine bright and clear as a winter night's sky. 

I wish I could forever capture all of your intoxicating baby-ness,

to have for later, when I will miss it dearly.

I hope I will remember your tiny ways when you are big and strong....

Love, Mom

Dear Bed,

Oh how I missed you last night; 

your fluffy pillows, smooth sheets, and comfy blankets,

your cosy warm embrace.

I wouldn't even have minded the noisy creatures I share you with,

if only we had spent more time together last night.

Sigh....

Instead I spent time in the starlight with someone,

someone who likes to sleep in the daytime sometimes more than in the night... 

Funny though,  how I really don't mind anymore....

must be love.