Thursday, August 23, 2012

day one

despite waking up a bit late and having to hurry out the door, the first preschool drop off went off without a hitch.  within four minutes of getting in line, noah was on his way into the building and i was off to target to get him some new shoes and a first day of school present (two matchbox cars and new sunglasses).  noah was a rock star.  i sensed the slightest bit of nervous hesitation, but with a hug and kiss from his mama, he was on his way.  i had to choke back tears.  my baby.  he's not a baby anymore.  he is officially a preschooler.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The night before preschool

Dear Noah,

Tomorrow marks the official beginning of your educational career.  I have such mixed emotions.  I am so proud of you and the boy you are becoming.  So witty and funny and smart and loving.  Everyday you do something or say something or come up with some creative idea or story that blows my mind.  I look at you and I am absolutely amazed at how remarkable you are and feel so lucky that you are MY son.

I am also feeling a little bit sad.  My baby, my first born, my first little miracle is growing up.  You will be four in a few months- a few weeks really - and yet, it still feels like just yesterday I held you in my arms for the first time. 

I hope someday when you are older, and you read these silly blog posts of mom's, that you can understand my emotions and truly feel my love and adoration for you (and your sister).  Someday, you will have children of your own and I know you will feel the same way I do.

But until then, I want you to know how proud of I am of you, and how proud I am to be your mommy.  There are times that I get angry and frustrated with you, and I sometimes forget to take a step back, breathe, and remember that you are just a three year old.  I love that I have taught you to "take a deep breath", and that you will remind me to do the same.

Tomorrow, nothing changes and everything changes.  For you, it will be a fun experience, of playing with friends, going to the gym, finding a new book in the library.  It will be a place to expand your knowledge of so many things (though I know you will blow them away with how smart you already are, since you already know all your letters and numbers and can even read when you're in the mood).  It will be a place to meet new people and learn that even though some people might be a little bit different, deep down, we are all the same.  At the same time, I feel like this is a whole new world for us.  Preschool is school.  This is the plan for the next 15 years, and then it's off to college.  I worry that maybe I'm pushing you too much.  After all, this is really your THIRD year in a preschool type program (the last two being a loosely structured, two day per week parents morning out program). 

But I know you can handle it, and not just that, you will thrive.  You will grow socially and emotionally, as well as intellectually.  I can't wait to hear about everything you do on every day.  I will hang on every word, and try to remember that this time of our lives only happens once.  I have a hard time with that, and then I feel sad when I forgot to embrace that way of thinking.  I know this is the "last time" my first born will have his first day of preschool, and I don't want to let anything distract me from this experience.  I want to remember it the way I remember the first time I saw you and the first time I held you in the recovery room.  I want to remember it like your first steps and cuddling with you in that big uncomfortable chair we had in your nursery, where I rocked you to sleep for so many nights.

Noah Taylor, I love you and I am so proud of you.  You and Emily are my heart, and I know that you will both be whatever you want to be and do whatever you want to do.  My wish for you both is just that.  To succeed in whatever it is you aim to achieve, and to have health and happiness every step of the way.

I love you with my whole heart, Boo Boo.  You are my best boy.

Friday, August 10, 2012

summer of 2012

holy crap, the summer is nearly over, and i have major mommy guilt that i suck at blogging. if facebook statuses could be converted to a baby book, i'd be golden, but otherwise, i hope my kids never ask me about their firsts because i'm terrible at documenting these sorts of things. *sigh* i need to get over it, because emily's almost 8 months old now, and life's too short to worry about writing stuff down.

the long and short of our summer... we have kept busy as we always so in the summers with play dates, parties, cubs games, concerts, etc. emily currently has six teeth. two top middle, two bottom middle, and one top/one bottom on her left. it's cute/weird/annoying to me that her teeth aren't coming in evenly. whatev. as long as they all show up eventually, right? she started sitting totally independently somewhere between six and seven months, and ON seven months, she started doing babbling "dadadada" and "wawawa". in the last few days, we are pretty sure she is trying to say kitty (though she generally squeals when she sees the cats), my mother-in-law thinks she's saying hi, and i think she might have waved at some kids at the doctors office today... she's not crawling yet, but it's close. put her on her tummy or butt, and she either pivots or scoots, and can DEFINITELY get to what she wants. she will rock on hands and knees, and it's about time to lower the crib cuz if we sit her in there, she grabs onto the side of the crib and you can see those muscles tightening, as she tries to pull herself up. she eats like a freaking rockstar, so unlike her bro. every kind of baby food, but also puffs and crackers, i've given her bits of chicken and pasta. she loves food. she is still nursing like a champ. my goal of nursing to a year (or beyond) is in sight, and i'm so proud of both of us. her sleep is still somewhat inconsistent. she is very recently (like the last month or so) FINALLY getting more normal naps during the day, and her nighttime sleep is day to day. last night she slept 10:30 to 7:30, but other nights she's up at 3, 4, or 5 (for example). i'm pretty used to it after 8 months of NOT sleeping through the night, but i would like to get my consistent 8 hour stretches back, no doubt.

noah is growing like a weed. 41 lbs and 41 inches at our hemotology appt the other day! he did two different tee ball programs this summer. the first was a six week, 2 and 3 year old class that worked on the basics, kind of an intro class.  the second was another six weeks, but for 3 to 6 years olds and met two days a week.  they broke into teams, got shirts and hats and PICTURES, and played legit games.  noah's skills came a long way during these sessions.  his hitting, throwing and running have drastically improved.  he also took a saturday morning group swim class, and it helped him better enjoy the water, though he is still pretty timid in the water and has a long way to go.  (though he DID go down the water slide at my friend's pool a few weeks ago, which blew my mind!)

he is loving the london olympics and loves pretending to do every sport that comes on.  he is very excited about piatt lake and has been sharing with us his memories of the cabin and the lake, and tell us the things he is looking forward to (playing in the sand and water, sleeping in the cabin, and driving therenokay. right.)  he is loving being a big brother, though he sometimes forgets his own sttrength, but he adores emily and he is her world.  it is quite evident that NO one trumps noah in emily's eyes.

hopefully i can blog again soon.  noah is starting preschool on the 23rd so i'm SURE i'll have something to share.  :)

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