Life With Little Ones: May 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Well, it is official... Sebastian is registered and destined to become a Kindergartner this fall... He is thrilled... I on the other hand have been forcing the lump in my throat far far away for the majority of the day... I told myself, that crying was not an option. Excitement and eminence antisipation will fill the space where tears and disbelief would otherwise dwell... He is ready, this I know as well as I know my love for my son. He will be an amazing student, he will excel and make me more proud than I might have thought that I could be... I was looking at his treasure board that hangs above his bed today... The sweet faces of his lovely friends, collected throughout his years of preschool and his time in the community... I looked at pictures of he and myself, and instantaneously, the lump was back in my throat...My little boy growing and growing and changing and growing. I can remember dropping him off for his first day in Mrs.Johnson's preschool class... He was a bit timid but reassured me that he was going to be fine, and I promised him that I was gong to fine as well... I left him there is that classroom and and was alone for the first time in the three years sense he was born to me... I knew then, that this growing up business had just begun and that there was much ,much more of it to come.

I welcome the change and the expansion of his mind... I encourage his enlightenment, under one condition...His heart needs to remain as genuine and pure as it is today. No maybes...I'll make sure of it.

Interaction

Monday, May 18, 2009

Perfect Pic-nic-ing

I choose green...

Admiration

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Fancy Free

Foot Loose...

Fancy Free...

Riding a Bike With No Training Wheels...

That's Me!

Yummy Yummy

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Freedom

Today I retired Brooklyn's highchair.... He of course is thrilled to be sitting atop the Kaboost that his brother has used throughout the past year... Meanwhile, Sebastian is equally thrilled to be sitting in a "real" chair, no attachments, no seat belts... Legs swinging, feet dangling...freedom.

I on the other hand... not so thrilled. I couldn't help but think that this is a monumental step into toddler hood for my baby boy... I remember shopping for this chair as if it were yesterday... Reading reviews posted to online forums, after all, various precautions had to be taken to insure that our child was dining as comfortably and as cutely as possible! I must say that Brooklyn has eaten many a good meal in that little padded chair... First foods, right on through to steak and potatoes, that boy sure does love to eat! I will miss the days of strapping him in and enjoying his company in the kitchen while I prepared dinner for the rest of our family... I will miss reclining him within its supported seat and watching him play with his feet, legs straight up into the air... I will miss his tiny hands slapping its shiny surface and kicking his legs excitedly for more...

Another right of passage...

First the highchair...

Then the crib...

One thing after another...

I know how this works, I've been here before...

I'm not ready for my baby to be a big boy yet...

I don't think that my heart can stand a second transition...

Book Mooch

I LOVE this...If you are anything like myself, with piles of already been read and never will get read books around your house, you will love it too! What a wonderful idea... Now,why didn't I think of that?

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Finding Myself

I remember the day that I found out that I was pregnant with our first son, Sebastian. I was twenty two years old. No one could have prepared me for the shock I received when that little stick turned pink. I remember telling my husband that night when he got home from work. I remember him laughing, and me joining him. Nerves, I guess.

I remember watching my belly grow thoughout the remaining months of my pregnancy and wondering if my life would ever be the same. The day Sebastian was born was a pivotal moment in my life. In an instant I was propelled into a life long commitment to both he and I. The commitment to love and support him with every ounce of my being. To regard him as the most precious and most important of all living things. My beautiful son, alive, healthy, mine.

As parents, we were young.We brought Sebastian home to a one bedroom apartment in a sleepy beach town. I cared for him with every last drop of energy that I had. Anthony worked long, long days. Days that seemed to never end. Gone before our boy would wake, home after his head lay rested. One day at a time, my baby and I made it though. As he grew, I grew. As he began to change, I began to change. We evolved, we gained momentum moving forward.We were an unstoppable force. Sebastian and I against the world. Being his mother made me feel like I could do anything. For the first time in my life, I was accountable for my actions, proud of my accomplishments, and fearless in love. He made me feel things I had never felt before and gave me a life worth living.

We are better for our struggle.

Our secret camaraderie continues. Sebastian and I are the best of friends, allies above all else.

He supports me.

I am, and always will be in support of him.

Sebastian made me who I am today.

I gave him life, and he gave me the life I always wanted.

Our second son Brooklyn was born some three and a half years after Sebastian came into our lives...Brooklyn came to us at a time in our lives where we were much more prepared for a child, and at a time when I felt that I could mother above all else. It seemed for me that the role of ones mother was already broken in, tested and tested again... We were thrilled with his arrival. What Brooklyn did for our little family of three is so far beyond words... He united us, made us feel like a true family and reminded us of how very lucky we are to have one another... Sebastian had been given a brother, and I was given the opportunity to be the mother to yet another child. Once again , I felt invincible, strong and powerful. I had two children, and my head was not only above water, I was thriving. With my babies by my side, the future had never been brighter... I could see more clearly what it was that I want for the both of them, as well as myself... I imagined the beauty of our lives together...

As they grow, I grow.

We stretch, we bend.

Flexibility is key.

We love above all else.

Today, I stand a changed woman, made better by her children. A woman who takes each day, one at a time, for exactly what it is. There are days filled with big moments, but many more filled with the small moments. Moments that can change a girls life without her even knowing it; forcing her to love on levels that she could not have imagined possible. Days that would test her and push her to her breaking point, only to wake the next morning, happy to do it all again. There are extreme highs and sometimes extreme lows. Most of it falls somewhere in between, a hazy love filled center of the divide where love and admiration carry you through, cushioning you and protecting you along the way. The little moments,too many to be counted... The real reward for a mothers job well done.

As Sebastian and Brooklyn's giver of life, mother, friend, housekeeper, support councilor, nurse, chef, chauffeur,cheerleader, coach and referee... I will gladly be paid in smiles and hugs for the remainder of my servitude.

Without you I am a mere shadow of myself...

Thank you for the opportunity to fulfill myself through you.

I love you both endlessly...

Happy Mothers Day, to me.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Brotherly Love

Pretty Girl

Knock, Knock...

So while shopping at the library book store early this week, I happened upon this little treasure of a book! I have to say that I love everything about this book! I love that it is a vintage Little Golden Book... I love that it is filled with jokes and riddles that both Sebastian and I find to be quite hilarious! I love that the original owner wrote her name in the book and ever so kindly placed a Scratch and Sniff sticker inside the cover... The sticker works like new, ah... the smell of artifical pine! Lastly I love that Sebastian really seems to understand the jokes and some of the double meanings in the riddles! He thought that the joke on page two about the lettuce was crazy funny! Oh, and I love that I paid .50 cents for this fun!

Spring In A Jar

I saw this sweet little project in my Family Fun magazine last month and had tagged it for future making! Not until I saw Jen's version did I bump it to the front of our list of must makes! Darling!