Day Two: Owen

Owen. My first born. The light of my life.

My hardest, yet most rewarding days come from the ones that I spend with him.

 

 

It's so hard to believe that we are now on the "second" when it comes to holidays. Whenever I see the teeny newborn clothes hanging up at the store it's hard to think that those used to be too big for him and now he's up running around and being very much his own person. And while I'm very, very grateful to be passed the newborn stage of his life (it was probably one of the most stressful times of my life), I am a bit sad that the cute and quiet times are gone too.

 

 

I loved sitting on the couch with him and having him fall asleep on me. It was a good excuse not to get any sort of cleaning done or errands run and such a great time for both of us. Of course he'd wake up a few hours later because I inevitably had to move because our cuddle sessions got very hot from all the body heat! The first time he rolled over, the first time he started smiling, his first time in the bunny swing, the first time he slept in his crib, first football season... All memories now.

 

 

Of course I am super excited to be in this toddler phase of life! It's a lot more tiring, but oh so rewarding. It is crazy with the amount of things he has learned just in the past month alone. We picked him up from Children's Church one Sunday and he had added "more" to his sign language vocabulary! (Thank you, "Grandma" Roberta!) That week we traveled to Cleveland and in the span of 20 minutes we taught him "please" with goldfish. Of course now he just short-cuts the "more please" to "please", but still.

 

 

The past few weeks he's taken to walking more than crawling. He doesn't want to sit or be held any more if he can just walk around himself (with handholding). He gets fussy more, but that's probably because he's finally getting more than 4 teeth. He can be a little sassy, especially when he's tired, but that's just because he now knows what he wants and what he doesn't like. We used to be able to feed him ANYTHING, but now he has his preferences of fruit, dairy, carbs, and sweets... Kinda like his mom...

 

 

I love that I can already see the things that have been constant throughout his life. I hope that he will always be the cute kid in the check out line at Joann's that flirts with the other ladies in line. I hope that he will always be entertained with people watching and that the characters and crowds at Disneyland will never scare him. I also hope that he continues being an easy sleeper. He slept through the night starting around 6 weeks old, and except for a week or two span during his 4 month growth spurt, that hasn't changed. I hope that he'll be a good eater. He used to be stellar, but I know around this time they stop eating as much as they used to. I just hope that he's more like Andrew and less like me as he gets bigger.

 

 

He has always been my sidekick. When people ask me what it's like to be a mom, that's always in my answer. I have an instant best friend, a person who is (almost) always down to go to the zoo or aquarium or Target with me. It's cliché, but being a mom is by far the most rewarding and tiring job in the world. What other job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a lifetime?!

 

 

It's a little daunting to think of all the things he still has to learn and the people that he'll have to learn to deal with in his life. But I know that Andrew and I always want to be open and honest with him and I am just hoping that this will benefit all of us when he's a decade or two older.

 

 

I can't wait for the upcoming holidays to spend with a now toddler (so weird to think of him that still!). It will be so much fun now that he can eat turkey and stuffing, tear into the wrapping paper, and run around the house in his Christmas pajamas.

 

 

Thank you, Owen, for being the most perfect first born a mom could ask for. I am so proud of the little person you have become and I just know that you will be a person that people continue to want to be around as you get older.