Aiden's Birthday

Aiden had a great 5th birthday. Thank you to everyone who mailed cards or sent presents, he was so happy and excited! We just did a nice, quiet family day with presents, cake & ice cream, a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, and anything he wanted for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He got two Star Wars Lego sets from Chuck and me and then decided to spend his birthday money from his Granny & Grandad and his Aunt Deb & Uncle Bill on two more Star Wars Lego sets, so he is in Lego heaven and hasn't stopped chattering about Legos since his birthday, lol.

After my failed attempts at both Chuck and Ava's birthday cakes last year, I finally decided to start a new birthday cake tradition in our house. The day before your birthday, you get to go to Walmart (classy, I know, but they have the biggest selection of ready-made cakes!) and pick out any cake you want. Then you can put whatever you want on it, toys or candy or decorations. We found some Power Rangers birthday decorations at the Party Store and Aiden decided to make it a theme. He picked the most atrocious lime green and blue cake (but it was delicious!) and arranged all of his Power Rangers on it along with a Power Ranger candle and a #5 candle. He declared it perfect and it was the easiest birthday cake I've never baked, ha ha.

Happy birthday to my wonderful, sweet boy! Great things lie ahead for him, of that I am certain:)

Five years...

I told the cashier at Walmart this afternoon, "My little boy is turning 5 tomorrow." Aiden looked around and said, "Huh? What little boy? Mom, I'm a big boy turning 5 tomorrow!" Just like that, a sucker punch to the gut, right in the middle of Walmart.

Has it really been 5 years since he swam in the space under my heart? Since I felt his tiny body writhe and wriggle inside of my own skin? Five years ago today, right now, he was supposed to have already been born, but my little man was stubborn right from the start. He's always had his own agenda:-) He just got stuck like a stick in the Georgia clay, refused to move, and so finally at 2:24am on March 23rd, 2006, he was promptly retrieved from my stomach, came out screaming, and pretty much didn't stop for the first 6 months of his life.

Everyone says to cherish those first few months, that they go by too quickly, that you will forget them all too soon. I have a confession...I wanted them to go by quickly. I wanted to forget them, forget the endless screaming, forget being covered in spit-up and being so tired that I could barely remember my own name. I couldn't believe that this was what other mothers raved about, what other mothers wanted to hold onto and never let go. But, little by little, we got to know each other, him and I. I discovered my son and, in doing so, I discovered a new side of myself as well.

When a child is born, so is a mother. And now my little boy, my baby, is turning five. I realized this morning that I've been a mother longer than I've ever done anything else in my life. Longer than any other job I've ever had, longer than any school I ever attended, even technically longer than I've been a wife, I've been a mother. And it's all because of him.

Gone are the days of wishing that time would speed up. He has bloomed into the most perfect and amazing son that I ever could have hoped or wished for. He is kind and polite, smart and outgoing, willful and ambitious. He has his bad days, and I have mine too, and we weather them together, just like we've always done.

I'm so excited to celebrate his birthday with him tomorrow. :-) Lot's of pictures to come, I promise!

:-)

A very special little boy in my life is turning 5 this week, so although I have been a terrible blogger lately, I promise a new post this week with birthday pictures:-) I just haven't been myself these past few months, winter has really stolen my light and my desire to write anything at all. But don't worry, I can slowly but surely feel it seeping back in with every degree that the temperature rises, and I'm certain that the urge to pour out my words will be back very soon.

Chuck and I got a jumpstart on the spring yardwork today (I had really forgotten how much debris accumulates in a yard over the long winter!) and I'm looking forward to *hopefully* growing grass where the pear trees used to be and enjoying a nice, full yard this summer. We're currently trying to get the yard all puppy-proofed; Chewie is so small that he can escape under a few gaps in the neighbor's fence, so we're going to try to fill in the gaps with soil and then seed the areas. We also need to install lattice under the deck to keep Chewie from investigating under there. Chuck and I keep joking that Chewie is the nosiest little puppy we've ever seen--they say curiosity killed the cat, but I'm not so sure it won't kill Yorkie-poos too!

More to come later this week, you can hold me to it!

Let Me Count the Ways

It's no secret that I am not a "baby person." I'm so happy to be done with the gurgling, teething, screeching, crawling stage that it isn't even funny. And not-quite-five short but somehow also long years later, I am finally really in love with being a mother. It's funny how it happens like that sometimes, it crept up on me, this enjoyment of my children. I've always loved them, truly and deeply in a way that only a mother can when her heart is suddenly walking around outside of her body, but now I am really enjoying them, the funny things they say and do, the way they show their love for me. And I try to tell them, I really do, but I know that I complain a lot here, so I wanted to write a little love letter to my children, for me to remember all of the silly little reasons why I love them.

Dear Aiden,
* I love how every night when I tuck you into bed I tell you, "Good night, sleep tight sweet boy, don't let the bedbugs bite, I'll see you in the morning!" and you always, without fail, tell me, "Mom! Don't let the bedbugs bite you either! Love you!"
* I love that you have become so affectionate and sweet, always giving me kisses and hugs and you told me yesterday at the Y, "Mommy, you are the best mommy in the whole world and I feel so lucky that I am your son!" My eyes swam with tears because not so long ago I worried that maybe you would never be that way with me, and you have surprised me and shown me what a truly special heart you have.
* I love how much you love coloring, and how every time you color a picture you tell me that you think it's better than a real live photograph:)
* I love that you love your new puppy and want to play with him and protect him.
* I love that you love to do puzzles, just like your Daddy, and you don't mind that it takes me a while to figure them out!
* I love that you are really trying to be better about eating new foods and trying fruits and vegetables.
* I love the way you still try to fit into my lap, even though it's nearly impossible.
* I love how great of a big brother you are *most of the time;-)* and you help your sister when she needs it.
* I love how polite you are, you almost always say "please" and "thank you" and "may I?" instead of "can I?" without me ever asking you.
* Most of all I love you for always being yourself and saying how you feel. You are very outgoing and love to make new friends and I hope that never changes!

Dear Ava,
* I love how you pucker your lips up for a big smoochy kiss:)
* I love the way you dance with your eyes closed (even though this will likely someday lead to an accident, lol)
* I love the way you call your bottom a "tiny heiny."
* I love your super squeaky high voice that you use when you are playing pretend.
* I love the way you sing the ABC song and say "elmo elmo p" instead of "lmnop."
* I love that you always remember to give me a hug and a kiss goodbye if I am leaving, and you always tell me that you will miss me.
* I love how you use at least a page of stickers a day, just because they are your favorite thing.
* I love how much you love your brother, and how you ask me at least 10 times every school morning if it is time to pick him up yet (even though as soon as we do, you two start fighting, lol).
* I love how much you love to swing, because it reminds me of myself as a kid.
* I love how when I get frustrated about something, you are always there to encourage me and tell me, "You can do it, Mom! Don't give up!"
* I love how much you love to Swiffer, because it helps make the floors extra clean:)
* I love when you help me cook, because you always get really into it, and it makes me feel happy:)
* I love that you ask to ride bikes in the driveway every single day, despite the fact that it's been freezing and snowy for the past 3 months. Soon, baby girl! Soon!
* Most of all I love you because you wear your heart on your sleeve and I never have to guess how you feel. You love big and hurt deeply and are very passionate and I hope that never changes.

My sweet, beautiful, amazing children...you've changed me so. I really don't remember the person I used to be before I was your mother, and I am better for it. Thank you for letting me love you, teach you, guide you, hold you, and for loving me back even when I've done you wrong or had a weak moment. I'm lucky...