On the Night You Were Born

On the Night You Were Born
by Nancy Tillman

Luke and I often read this book - he loves to see the bears dancing, and I just adore the wording. It made me think of it today because, well ... tomorrow is his 2nd birthday AND because, as Luke pointed out this morning, the moon stayed up!

On the night you were born,
the moon smiled with such wonder
that the stars peeked in to see you
and the night wind whispered,
"Life will never be the same."

Because there had never been anyone like you...
ever in the world.

So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain
that they whispered the sound of your wonderful name.

It sailed through the farmland
high on the breeze...

Over the ocean...

And through the trees....

Until everyone heard it
and everyone knew
of the one and only ever you.

Not once had there been such eyes,
such a nose,
such silly, wiggly, wonderful toes.

When the polar bears heard,
they danced until dawn.

From faraway places,
the geese flew home.

The moon stayed up until
morning next day.

And none of the ladybugs flew away.

So whenever you doubt just how special you are
and you wonder who loves you, how much and how far,
listen for geese honking high in the sky.
(They're singing a song to remember you by.)

Or notice the bears asleep at the zoo.
(It's because they've been dancing all night for you!)

Or drift off to sleep to the sound of the wind.
(Listen closely...it's whispering your name again!)

If the moon stays up until morning one day,
or a ladybug lands and decides to stay,
or a little bird sits at your window a while,
it's because they're all hoping to see you smile...

For never before in story or rhyme
(not even once upon a time)
has the world ever known a you, my friend,
and it never will, not ever again...

Heaven blew every trumpet
and played every horn
on the wonderful, marvelous
night you were born.

Happy 2nd Birthday, my sweet boy! July 16th IS such a wonderful, marvelous day because it marks the day that we first met you ... and, "Life will never be the same."

What a difference a year makes

Last night I took some pictures of Luke climbing and sliding on his outdoor play structure that he got for his 1st birthday. He is ALL OVER IT. Climbing up the sides, swinging from the archway, sliding down the slide, and then doing it all over again.

Here are some pictures of him almost exactly one year ago ... so much has changed.

Luke's book selection for this month ...

...is, without any doubt...


The Little Engine that Could


A little long when all you want to do is get your toddler to bed, but a classic nonetheless.



A few new books might be coming someone's way tomorrow :)!

Loving Two

I loved this poem when I first read it. I knew that there would come a time when it would describe my thoughts .... I guess now is the start of that time.

Loving Two

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then he is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you’ve never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, “Please love only me”. And I hear myself telling you in mine, “I can’t,” knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying him, as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times – only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how he adores you – as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of his new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you – only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you’ll never share my love. There’s enough of that for both of you – you each have your own supply.

I love you – both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.

~Author Unknown

A special award

Luke's sweet Gym teacher, Miss Ashley, sent him a note this week in the mail with a special surprise in it. We missed the final gym class because we were out of town, and Ashley wanted to be sure that Luke received his award.

Luke is funny because he refuses to wear much other than clothes (no hats, no sunglasses ... you get the idea). I thought that this would fall into that same category and that I would likely not even be able to get a picture of him wearing it.

WELL...much to my surprise, not only was he happy to wear it right away - and he knew exactly what it was for and who it was from because he started doing "donkey kicks," "monkey jumps," and "somersaults" as soon as he put it on - but he does not want to take it off! We wore it shopping and to swim class this week! And, taking it off for bed is a very sad time as well (as you can see from the picture - he's wearing it in his jammies, right before bed.

Doing some late night reading....

...to prepare for my new role.


The picture is a bit blurry, but you can see the title. The funny thing is, we hadn't even read that book together yet - he just randomly picked it out. In fact, most nights when I go in to check on Luke he has a number of books in his bed. I guess the few books that we read together everynight before I tuck him in just haven't been cutting it!

Trains, planes, and firetrucks ... oh my!

Luke LOVES trains, this we know. Lately, he has expanded his transportation love to include planes, buses, and trucks ... namely, firetrucks. He LOVES them and is often stopping mid-play to listen for one in the area (unfortunately for him, fortunately for us, we don't often get firetrucks around our house).

We went to the library last week and picked up some books. These are Luke's current favorites.

I am so tired of reading these 4 that I'm returning them early and hoping to find some different ones. If anyone has any fireman/firetruck, plane, or train book suggestions, PLEASE send them my way!

a BIG announcement

Guess what!?

I am going to be....

a BIG ...

brother!!!

Can you believe it???

This is very exciting news :)!

HE or SHE is due New Years Day - January 1st, 2010.

Dog-sitting

Brooklyn's friend Sadie is staying with us for a couple of weeks while her family is away on vacation.

Adding to that favorite foods list

Count in dried apricots ...



...and freshly picked plums from our tree

Mommy's off for summer...

...and we're having fun. Here's just ONE of our many fun activities from her first week off!

Fun in the Froggy Pool

Favorite foods

I'm posting this picture because anyone who knows Luke and his eating issues (he's SO picky) can likely appreciate it as much as I do. Yes, this is him eating a nectarine ... and he finished it all the way down to the pit!

As I post, I realize that Luke has actually made great strides towards being more adventurous with his eating. Although we still struggle to get vegetables in him, at least we have expanded the list of what he will eat. For the sake of documenting this stuff that I don't write down often enough, some of his current favorites include:

-cheerios

-waffles (homemade, not frozen)

-toast/bread

-bagels

-bananas

-yogurt

-strawberries

-oranges

-apples

-goldfish crackers

-string cheese

-ritz crackers

-macaroni & cheese

-grilled cheese sandwiches

-chicken nuggets

-ice cream (smart boy!)

-anything chocolate

-smoothies (which Mommy sneaks tofu and carrot juice into)

-pudding

-NECTARINES

-pureed sweet potatoes

-blueberries

-applesauce

Why the Pack-n-Play is no longer an option

This is what I found after Luke woke up from his nap on Monday.

The bin was in the closet with all of the outgrown clothes and socks that you now see on the floor. He was able to pull the bin into the crib, empty it, and then use it to escape.

Since Monday, naps have been taken exclusively in the big boy bed!

Swim lessons

Luke started another swim session today. We tried this last summer, but after several sessions, he really just didn't like it. I was hesitant to continue just because the point was to get him comfortable in the water, not afraid of it. So, we took a year long break and we're now back at a new swim school for a second attempt. I had heard wonderful things from other local Mommies about this place, so felt optimistic going in.

Today went GREAT! He LOVED the class. Laughed, squealed, and splashed the entire time. He was great at kicking and moving his arms in the water, and although he didn't love going under, he did it several times. I thought that the curriculum was much more child-friendly. So, here's to a great summer filled with swimming! Hopefully we'll get some pictures of our little fish at some point so that I can post them!

What I love about Luke at 23 months

There is truly so much to love right now (and always).

1) Your counting - I'll often hear you as you are playing counting to yourself. After ten the numbers get more difficult to decipher, but they are definitely correct.

2) I love that you sing along with me to nursery rhymes or the radio.

3) I love that I will often catch you in the backseat of the car just nonchalantly tapping your hands on your knees to the music. You look like such a big boy when you do this.

4) I love that you sleep in your big boy bed - YAY!

5) I love that you are so excited to go pee-pee in the big potty! You even did a #2 this month in the potty! Every single time I ask you if you want to go, you enthusiastically jump up and say "ya, pee-pee, potty!" Sometimes then we'll get there and you'll have to squeeze SO hard just to get a little out :) ... but it is all worth it to you when you get to flush the toilet!

6) I love how much you love your dog, Brooklyn. She gets lots of love from you these days ... hugs and kisses.

7) I love how hard you tried to control yourself at Jack's birthday party because you really did understand that those were his presents ... but it was SO hard because you wanted to play with all of them.

8) I love how great of a traveler you were this month, to Mass. and Texas. You made traveling so easy by being flexible and adaptable to time changes and sleeping arrangements.

9) I love how you repeat things over and over to me to make sure that I understand what you are saying ... and you wait for me to say them back for confirmation. If I get it wrong, you try again and again. Sometimes you get frustrated with me, but I don't blame you :(

10) I love your sweet voice and how you have finally started to trade in calling me "maa" for "mom-mee." The sound of that word from you melts my heart.

11) I love your pretend play. You have quite the imagination and I just am in awe to sit and watch you.

12) I love your manners. You are so consistent now with the "thank yous," and the "bless yous," and the "Sorrys." It just warms my heart when I hear you put someone's name on the end (almost always now) - because you sound so genuine.