Tuesday, January 27, 2015

It Takes A Village.

Baby Sister is already spoiled rotten.  And so is her Mama.

This past weekend, Baby M and I were showered with love by lots of dear, sweet ladies.


Who gets all this love and attention, for their second baby?  If you've been around here long enough, you know that I also had a fabulous shower before Carter came home.

To be honest, I was SO hesitant to be the center of attention again.  My friends and family said everyone would be supportive and excited - but I just wasn't sure.  Would people think I was greedy?  Would they even come to a shower for a second child?  Would it just be awkward and weird the whole time?

Guess what?  I'm crazy, apparently.

OR I'm surrounded by an amazing, beautiful, supportive, loving, caring, incredible village of women.

My awesome mom-in-love (Carter's MiMi) put everything together with the help of a few ladies from church.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in.  For me?  All of this?  Really??



Remember, we aren't sharing.  We're horrible.
But we've given 2 clues!
It starts with an 'M' and it's 5 letters long :)



Of course my mom made the cake - the picture doesn't do it justice.  It was covered with glittery 'snow'...absolutely perfect.





Jake and Carter dropped me off, and of course Carter was totally diggin' the little candy 'bar'.  Isn't this picture of him kissing his mommy just adorable?!


Actually, that's not a kiss at all.  It's Carter saying "nooo".

Sort of like he does when we ask if he wants a baby sister :)  Get ready, dude!  Ready or not, here she comes!

And now, thanks to all these ladies, we are actually ready for her!  Look how blessed we are.


Before I opened any gifts, I warned everyone that there might be some tears.  Those ladies who have known me for a long time have probably heard me say that "I'm not an emotional person!".

HA.

Being Carter's mommy has changed me.  And now being this little lady's mommy has changed me even more.

There were tears, for sure.  How could there not be?!


There were lots of laughs, too.  We are a group of ladies who know how to laugh.  We love to laugh.

That's called joy.


I was so overwhelmed with each gift.  And I couldn't help but think about our first 'gift'.  Oh, how he has changed us.  We are different people than we were at our first baby shower.

Thank goodness.




I was so excited to open this quilt - made by MiMi!  I had picked out the pattern, and we decided on the fabric together.  Jake and I decorated her nursery around it, and I've been so excited to see the finished product!

It's exactly what I had envisioned.  I can't wait to snuggle her up in it.



So ladies, if the goal of this shower was to make me feel loved, special, and cherished - then, mission accomplished.  

Everyone was so thoughtful - right down to considering Carter when buying gifts (like the ladies who bought elephant themed baby sister gifts because they know big brother loves elephants) - and even many ladies bringing separate gifts for me to take home to Carter.  

Say huh?!  Cars, books, bubbles, and so much more.  All for the special big brother.

++++++++

There you have it.  If you didn't know it before, you know it now: I've got a pretty amazing village.  I am so grateful.  I'm not naive - I know this isn't the norm.  I know it full well.  

Many, many tears.

We are so loved.

See the bump on my belly?  Just below my left hand?
That's her.  She's grateful, too.
++++++++        

Want to hear something even more incredible?  This Saturday, I'm going to have a house full of more ladies - all coming to shower me with love.  Again.

How is this possible?!

One Thing I Know For Sure: Grateful for my village.

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Looking Ahead.

The past several weeks have found us doing lots and lots and lots of this.


See how focused he is?  He's even choosing to sit there at the table.  Begged for 'colors, paper', even. He'll color like this for a good 30 to 45 minutes (as opposed to 30-45 seconds...).  He'll even tell us what to draw, so he can color it.  

This is a miracle, to be honest. 


Carter and table work have been like oil & water.  And we haven't pushed it.  We knew that someday, when he was ready, he'd find enjoyment in things like this.

It's someday.  


I don't know what has changed in him.

Maybe he sees his friends at school enjoying themselves as they color and write and draw.  Maybe he spends so much time working on it at school that something clicked within him, and he realizes that creating is fun.  Maybe his hands and words have finally caught up with his incredible, soaring, wild  imagination.


Maybe I don't really care why.  I'm just so, so grateful that our little boy is starting to enjoy little boy things.

Every little boy should love spending a sunny winters day at the table, creating.  Imagining.  Laughing when dad draws a motorcycle, or when mom draws a bath tub.


These pictures do my heart so much good.  There were many times that I thought he'd never want to do this.  I thought it would always, always, always be a battle.  I thought he'd always have to be bribed to sit at the table to do work.  I wondered how a kid who hated table work could ever enjoy school.

And then, Carter surprised us.  It's really what he does best.

Story of our lives.


So let this post be a reminder to Carter's Mama: Carter CAN.

Just you wait and see, Mama - that thing you're so frustrated with right now will one day be a distant memory.  That skill you are praying he picks up - that habit you wish he'd stop doing already - that one thing that keeps you up at night and brings tears to your eyes while you're in the shower....it will all be fine.  Carter will show you what he can do, when he feels like it.

This is Carter's way.

You and Carter's Daddy will look at each other one day, jaws dropped, eyes glassy, and you'll say "Look! Look at what he's doing! Oh my gosh!" and you'll remember again that everything will always turn out fine.

It always, always, always turns out fine.

And why do we sweat it?  Take a cue from Carter and just relax.

Advocate?  Yes.
Prepare him for life?  Absolutely.
Help him in every single way possible?  Of course.
But worry?  Stress?  Freak your freak?  No, no, no.

That's not Carter's way.

One Thing I Know For Sure: Carter CAN.  Duh.
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