12 months

Posted on March 8, 2011 by mommyinthemidwest

Dear Theo,

Here we are, on your first birthday. The first anniversary of the day you came into my life. It’s such a bittersweet feeling for your mama. My heart swells with pride and nearly bursts with love when I think about you, much less see your face. You have come a long way, baby.

You have said so many words, but you are a stinker. You say them when you want to. Sometimes you are prompted, and sometimes you say things on your own. One of my favorite things you say is “moo.” When you see one of your cow toys, your mouth forms the cutest little “o” and you say “ooooo.” It’s one of the most adorable things I’ve seen. You say dada constantly. Getting you to say mama is trickier. Why is that? You say “hi” and will wave hello and bye-bye. I have also heard you say duck and sock, but only once. When we read your little owl book, you repeat me by hooting. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to see you and hear you learning new things.

You have eight teeth in the front and I’m pretty sure you are working on some more in the back. On the weekend before your birthday, you had your first fever. It started on a Friday afternoon and lasted until Saturday evening. Your mama and daddy were worried because we had never seen you so pitiful before. You just wanted to sit on our laps, which is totally unlike you. You are so very mobile and inquisitive. You almost never stop moving and exploring. But when you were feeling bad, you just wanted to snuggle with us. You were whiny and slept a lot and your little body was on fire. Friday night your temperature reached 102.4 and that scared your mama. I didn’t know what to do with a sick baby but we let you lead the way and tell us what you needed. Your party was Saturday and towards the end of the party, you had some energy. Maybe it was the cake…maybe it was the attention…maybe it was all the cool new toys.

You had a great party. We have lots of pictures to share with you. So many people love you. You are already so lucky to have such great family and friends. I hope the people that you choose to be a part of your life treat you with as much kindness.

You are taking steps now. The most we have counted so far is 9. You get braver every day. I think if we had carpet at home, you’d be zooming around the house but the slick floors make you a little more tentative. You’ll be walking and running around in no time. I’m looking forward to seeing you grow and change even more over the next year.

Your eating has been hit or miss lately. For the longest time, you were happy to eat whatever we offered you, whether is was something you fed yourself or had to eat off of a spoon. Over the last few weeks, you’ve become more independent and prefer to eat things that you can pick up with your cute little fingers. I hope you’ll always continue to try new things and be a good eater. We’ve started trying to get you away from bottles and onto sippy cups. Your birthday weekend was a bit of a setback because you didn’t want to eat or drink much at all. Since the bottle is easier and a comfort to you, we just offered you that. You’ve started drinking less formula. You go to the doctor for your one year check up tomorrow and I’m anxious to see how much you’ve grown. I think the doctor will say it’s time to switch you to whole milk!

You are such a happy, fun baby. I love you and I like you and I always will. I’m so lucky to be your mom and I hope every mom loves their baby as much and feels as lucky as I do. If that’s the case, there will be a lot of love going around the world. You’re going to have a baby sister or brother in a few short weeks. You’ll be a great big brother and I’m anxious to see how this new person in our lives changes things.

You’re taking steps towards becoming a toddler and we’re taking steps towards becoming more experienced parents every day as we learn with you. You have taught us everything we know about being a mom and dad. I don’t care what anyone else thinks of the way we raise you, but I sure hope you think we’re doing alright. I love you, Peezy.

xo,
Mommy

last day of the first year

Posted on March 7, 2011 by mommyinthemidwest

What a weekend!

I don’t have much time and there’s so much to post updates on.

I got the results of my gestational diabetes test back.

I have my 29 week check up today (although I won’t be 29 weeks til Thursday). How is that possible?

Last week I was thinking about all the milestones we’ve met with Theo this year and all the ones we didn’t…like no trips to the ER, no fevers, no major injuries or illnesses, etc. Well, we hit one of those milestones head on this weekend. No. Fun.

We had his first birthday party and I got emotional at the most random moment.

My best friend‘s little sister successfully gave birth via VBAC (Congrats, S!) to a beautiful baby girl Sunday morning.

Theo nearly stopped eating and drinking altogether and scared me half to death. Triple M mode, people – major mommy meltdown.

I spent time with my wonderful family and great friends over the weekend. I’ve been reflecting on how happy I am to be surrounded by the generous, kind, healthy people in my life. It’s so easy to take those qualities for granted.

Here’s my baby boy on the last day of his first year:

So much more to come,
~C~

12 kinds of random on a thursday

Posted on March 3, 2011 by mommyinthemidwest

1. I don’t eat crust. Pizza. Pie. Bread. Chicken Pot Pie. You name it. I hate crust.

2. Theo’s babysitter sent me this picture the other day to show me the monkey he’s been dragging around her house. My response: “Cute, but who is that little kid in the picture and where’s my baby?” He looks so big!

3. I hate brushing my kid’s teeth. Maybe not as much as he hates it when I brush them, but I really hate it. I never feel like I’m accomplishing anything (aside from torturing him).

4. I like bargains, but I don’t want to dig for them. I wish I could be a thrift store shopper, but I don’t have the patience. I almost never pay full price for clothes or shoes, but the deals have to be neatly organized or I get flustered and flee the scene.

5. I have always wanted to go to Costa Rica.

6. Sunshine, blue skies, and the smell of Spring make me happy. Literally. It’s like a chemical reaction in my body. I wouldn’t say I get depressed in the Winter but I definitely get happy in the Spring. Problems seem smaller, people seem friendlier. I love Springtime.

7. On the sunshine and Costa Rica note, I’m dyyyying to go on a vacation. I get sick of the same scenery and after so long, I start itching to see something new. I’m hoping we can squeeze in a trip to somewhere new, but close, while I am on maternity leave.

8. I like my job. I’ve been with the state for almost 4 years (how did THAT happen so fast?) and at my current position for almost a year and a half. I like it. I know a lot of people that can’t say the same thing, so I feel really lucky.

9. Baby kicks can be kind of annoying while you’re pregnant, but they are definitely the thing I miss the most about being pregnant. Weird. Same thing kinda goes for having this big giant belly. It’s annoying while it’s here, but it makes me feel special. I like seeing it in the mirror. I miss seeing it when it’s gone. I’m trying to appreciate it more this time around.

10. I’m done freaking out about Theo’s birthday party. Whatever happens happens and from here, it’s out of my control.

11. On the birthday party note, two of Theo’s BFFs also turn one this month (how good does it feel to FINALLY say it’s March!?!? Yes! The month when Winter ends and Spring begins….hallelujah!) and I’m so excited for what’s ahead for these three little boys. I hope they’ll be friends for a long, long time.

12. A final birthday note…my mom got Theo this wagon for his birthday. We decided to test it out a few days early. Can you say happy camper?

It’s a big weekend, diabetes test and birthday party…wish me luck!

~C~