May | 2014 | spaghetti on bath night

I have realized 3 things since last month:

I haven’t blogged since Jack’s 8 month post. I know, I’m trying my best not to be upset about it, but I have a feeling this month will be the same. I write this blog because it makes me happy, not to fill some quota, but it still feels empty without writing. I have some fun posts ahead, so bare with me!
My little baby has only three more months until he’s ONE. Stop. Time. Please Stop… or at least slow down!
My whole thought of using the notion “nine months up, nine months down” will be tucked away with “I’m only gaining 25 pounds” in my pregnancy dream book. Maybe for baby number two… there is always next time!

Any-who, on to my Turk monster. He’s just the best little guy. We have a great routine of feeding, playing, and sleeping. Only when another tooth presents itself (he got one more this month) or when we travel, does that routine get broken.

That routine was broken with Jack’s first flight last month. But it went SO smoothly! He even got a picture with the pilots! Thanks American Airlines for playing along.

Jack’s first flight was to see his family in Wisconsin for Easter weekend. Below are Jack’s twin cousins, Ellie and Ben. They are such sweet cousins to Jack and loved showing him the world around him, singing to him… and telling him what toys are not for babies. Ha.

Jack was entertained all weekend. He went on his first Easter egg hunt with his cousins and even met the Easter bunny. His other cousin, Thomas, was not a fan of the Easter bunny… I hear you buddy, he is kinda creepy.

Jack also got to meet some real bunnies back in Dallas. North Park, our local mall, set up a photographer with real bunnies, that pulls on your heart-strings while charging an outrageous amount for their pictures. Genius. Hence, the picture of a picture… one digital copy was 120.00. Bam!

But, lets back up; before we left Wisconsin, Jack became a cheesehead. He tried his first pieces of cheese in Wisconsin, loving every minute (and morsel), and enjoyed wearing some, too.

Jack’s really enjoying “do it myself” foods. Though he does like his oatmeal in the morning (like his mama), lunch and dinner have now become finger food items with one or two purees or yogurt on the side. Luckily, I have a plethora of options on Pinterest to choose from!! Here and here are some of my favorites. Plus, the pediatrician gave us the go ahead on just about anything besides nuts, peanut butter, honey, and shellfish! It’s been fun having Jack try so many different foods! I cannot wait to share a great smoothie recipe with you, too!

With all those new foods, he has a lot of energy. Jack is still crawling like crazy this month. He “swim-crawls” in the bath, too, and I’m guessing he is really going to enjoy his swim classes next month! I’m SO excited about that!! He is also able to transfer from sitting to crawling and back again. This was another game changer, because sitting him up was a wonderful way to “pause the action”, if you will, while I was doing something. Now, it just slows him down for a second or two.

He also (but only when you don’t direct him to) waves bye-bye to people. Yes, we are pretty proud parents for a flapping hand from time-to-time… it’s the little things.

I hope this finds you well. Sorry, for the Dear Diary post, but that’s all I have in me today. At least all the cute pictures may make up for the lack of luster.

Happy Spring friends!

This mother’s day has hit me pretty hard. My first mother’s day.

The emotional toll of being a mother myself, compounded with the realization of my own mother’s illness all came to the forefront on this glorious Sunday.

I don’t talk much about my struggles of being a mom without my mom, but it’s a hard one. I often think to myself how I would approach telling God, or whoever implanted an incurable, slowly-wasting-away disease in my mother, that I would take back my youth with her, if only I could implant her in my life today. Because now is when I need her the most. When I would appreciate her the most.

I would love to talk to her about my missteps as a mom. I would ask her how she was so loving and patient, ask her how she came up with all of her meal plans and activities, and ask her how she picked her battles with everyone else’s parenting ideas.

I would tell her I’m sorry for taking for granted all those meals she made, lunches she packed, all that laundry she ironed and folded, and all those night she sat with me for just one more story or one more arm tickle. I would thank her for always staying upstairs because I needed someone on the same floor as me to go to sleep.

I would hug her.

Really hug her, and she would hug back. She would say just what I wanted to hear: what an amazing person, parent, wife, I’ve become. Because that’s what moms do. And I would believe her.

So now, without my mom, I have to go it alone. Without the one pillar in my corner, that most women get to turn to. I will instead, take those visuals and memories I have etched in my mind from my own childhood, and use them to raise Jack. I will try to harness my mom’s ability to make him whole, clean foods, to be patient with him, to read that extra book, sing songs, and hug him. Hug him and kiss him and tell him just how amazing he is. And make sure he too, believes it. Like only a mom can.

Thank you, Mom, for showing me what it takes to become a great mom. I wish you were with us to show Jack what a great grandmother you would be… I miss you, love you, and think of you daily.

Happy Mother’s Day to all those moms out there.

spaghetti on bath night

Monthly Archives: May 2014

9 months

mother’s day