Today is not about me--at ALL--but it's incredible what happens when you become a mother, isn't it? I'm the same, but I'm different. Five years ago, everything changed. Everything. And for the better, too.
The world is a much better place because this kid is in it. He's going to be something--I don't know what, exactly, but he'll change something, someone in a big way. His spirit and his soul are too strong and unique to just blend in and be a wallflower. I can't wait to sit back and watch all that magic happen in the years to come. I'm so glad he picked us.
He named his new "best friend" unicorn "Penny the Wonderpony" and decided he needed to wear his Hot Wheels hat today because "that's what 5 year olds do." He asked for blue cake pops and ice cream for dinner, and that's precisely what's going to happen . Because when you're 5, the world is your oyster.
And for those who want to see the bunk bed train room reveal, here you go:
Right after I stopped recording, he shouted, "This is the best birthday, everrrrr!" I'm so, so proud of this boy.
Alex, thank you for making me a Mommy, for making me better. You are sweet and kind and you remind me and everyone around you that life is to be lived with joy, gratitude and humor. You're awesome, dude.
Truth time: I've never seen Frozen. Alex has seen it once with my parents on a Grammi/Poppi date.
I can only assume that all the girls at daycare sing "Let it Go" pretty much nonstop like the rest of Planet Earth, but can't be sure. Nevertheless, the movie came in the mail today because I couldn't be the one parent to never have seen it and Target.com delivers to my house nearly every day, so I just added it to my last online cart mostly out of peer pressure.
Tonight, I was in the kitchen making a bottle for Harper (or eating an ice cream bar, whatever) and I heard someone in his toy room belting it at the top of his little lungs. MAGICAL, I tell you. Here's a bit for your entertainment and heart meltage:
This year more than any other of my life, my heart is truly in the right and Holy place for Christmas.
Last night at the opening of our Christmas Eve church service, the Pastor invited all the children up to the altar and read them the Christmas story. Alex marched up there with all the confidence in the world and sat right next to Pastor Jerry and listened with such concentration. When the story was finished, he came back to us, sat down, and proclaimed with such innocence and certainty, "Mom and Dad, Harper is a baby like Jesus and she looks just like him!"
In that moment, the reality of what the night of Jesus' birth truly meant to the world hit me. What it meant to us. To our Heavenly Father. He sent us His SON. His flesh and blood. But not in the grandeur of a King or a Noble World Leader. He came as a Child. As a helpless, crying baby.
This clip was also played at the opening of our church services, and one line in particular really struck a chord in my heart..."When the journey to the cross began with a shrill cry."
It's easy to imagine Jesus as an adult--preaching the Gospel, performing miracles and walking the Earth. I don't know that I'll ever be able to fully wrap my head around the fact that He came to us as a baby, especially after looking into the eyes of my own two babies and knowing how much I love and adore them. The love our Father has for us is more than that--it's bigger and grander than anything we can ever comprehend. And yet...He came to us in the smallest, most helpless way possible. God is real. God is good.
As a follow up to last year's Christmas hit by one Alex Joseph Van Wormer, "Feliz mommy-nah," I give to you our 2013 sensation, "Frosty the Snowman."
As a setup: The original "Happy Birthday!" cartoon aired on TV a few weekends ago, so we saved it to our DVR to watch for a family movie night closer to Christmas. Since then, we've watched it MAYBE four or five times.
He recited this to me in the car today, so I had to get it on camera once we got home. If you know the movie, it will get familiary very quickly. He's an amazing one man show.
For the record, I LOVE how he even uses Frosty's "accent" when he's doing the Frosty lines. "Let's make a paaahhh-tee out of it." And he just nails the "phew!" at the very beginning.
Oh, hey there. Long time no blog. We've been busy around here...you know, adding to our family and stuff. In the last week we've gotten new furniture, a new shed, and a new baby. We sort of go all out when it comes to chaos and change.
But what you really want to know...we're all doing great. Better than great, actually. Harper's birth story will come later when I have more time to sit and thoughtfully write it, but the Reader's Digest version is that it was a night and day version of what it was with Alex. If I can go so far as to say it was an amazing experience, I will say that. Other than the dizzyness of coming down from anesthesia (which can't really be avoided), I felt and continue to feel amazing.
As for Harper, she's the world's greatest (and most beautiful) baby. If you don't already, check out my Instagram feed (link at right) to see loads of photos. She eats like a rock star and I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say she already damn near sleeps through the night. She goes down at 11 or 12, wakes up at 3 for a quick 2 oz bottle, and then sleeps again until 6 or 7. I actually feel like a human, instead of a more seasonally appropriate zombie.
As for Alex, he was BORN to be a big brother. He's so loving and protective of her and loves to hold her and feed her. He wants her to do EVERYTHING with him--here they are in a Sunday morning snuggle, something I hope continues at least into their teen years. He's adjusting well and I'm a proud Mom to report our house is a peaceful, happy, sleep-filled place for all.
For your viewing pleasure, here's the video taken when Alex met Harper for the first time (thanks for capturing it, Mom!). And yes, he's wearing toddler scrubs that say "big brother" on them...a real hit with the nurses! (Available here.)
OMG. The day I thought would never, ever arrive is FINALLY HERE.
As the great Mary Katherine Gallagher would say, my feelings would best be expressed through a monologue of song sung by a magical (then) 2.5 year-old boy who's going to become a big brother...you know, TOMORROW. I feel how he does riiiiight about :48 into it. Fist pumps all day, yo.
So we told Alex tonight at dinner all about the impending arrival of his little sister, because quite frankly, we couldn't really wait much longer. It far and away exceeded any expectations we had about his reaction.
His biggest concern at first was which highchair she would sit in at Aunt Jane's (because all the"little kids" sit in high chairs during meals and circle time and at the moment they are all occupied...most notably by the littlest munchkin, baby Olivia.)
I can't even with all the things he lists that he wants to teach her and share with her. And that the biggest things he can't wait to do with her is "bring her to Aunt Jane's," "learn her to read a book" and watch TV? Please. And teach her Spanish? Watch for yourself here:
After I shut the camera off, he continued to ask a bazillion questions about his sister and I had to get a notepad out to take notes so I wouldn't forget all of the ridiculous and adorable things he said. In random order:
He repeatedly asked me to "open my mouth wide" because he could "hear her talking to him through my pipes."
He asked, "When does she come out? And when does she turn 2? Because then she will have a birthday and we will sing to her." And then he sang the birthday song and I died a little on the inside.
He urged that we "need to go shopping!" because we need to buy the baby "clothes and bottles and diapers and a crib because babies need these things."
"Mom! We don't have a changing table. We need to get one of those because mine is old."
He offered to give her all his sleep toys--even Jake & Emma which is a BIG, BIG deal, people.
He asked how old she was right now. This was tricky to answer. I went with 'zero,' which I think was both satisfying and technically correct.
"If she gets sick can I give her my orange medicine?"
"She cannot glue things by herself yet. Aunt Jane will have to help her, you know."
And the all-time Emmy winner best of the night... "Mom, did you have a crunch her up with your teeth to get her down there in your belly?"
Judging by how the rest of dinner went, he's unfazed about having a sister vs. a brother and already loves her just as much as we do. This, of course, comes as no surprise but it's nice to have it on lock.
We're going to sleep on her name a few more nights and then tell that news...and for those that think they know, I promise you don't!
I've shared here before that Alex is very musical. He can hear a song once and spit it back out word-for-word, note-for-note. "Home" by Philip Phillips has been appearing on our Pandora favorites quite a lot lately, and we find Alex humming or singing along to it a few times a day.
Here's a snippet of the chorus:
A few other current faves are his stellar dance moves to "Like the ceiling can't hold us" and if you ask him what he has in his pocket, he'll tell you "Twenty dollars in mah pocket....lookin' for a drummah" and then I die.
Jane, our daycare provider, sent me this video in an email attachment. It's a quick watch--certainly worth 6 minutes of your time.
It's a very uplifting video and appropriate for this day, Mother's Day. And although I personally do not feel invisible in my life (I have great affirmation from a wonderful husband, an adorable son, and an incredible network of family and friends), the analogy is very fitting.
We are all building great cathedrals--maybe yours is in your work, or your family, or your craft or even your home. Mine is in all those things (and more), and every day it is my prayer that it's all done for a greater good--a Greater God--and not for my personal glory or credit. That's not what I'm here for. Are you?
"With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."
Grammi is celebrating her birthday in style this year from the beaches of St. Lucia. I know, so jeally.
However, when we called her this morning, Alex said (without prompting), "Grams, you're on the beach relaxing and eating grapes." He gets it. This kid really gets it.
Here's another spontaneously awesome parenting moment, courtesy of "all Christmas, all the time radio" and a little boy who loves to sing and hears things in his own, special way.
It was night time, so it's dark. But all that matters is the audio, I promise.
As you can hear, I had a hard time breathing through it because I was laughing so hard. Being a Mom is so awesome. Especially to such an awesome, creative and happy kid.
It was my freshman year of college. My roomie had just left for class and I was watching the news getting ready for the day. When I saw the unthinkable, I ran into the hall looking for someone, anyone with answers. I nearly ran into another friend, who had just ran out of his dorm room, too. We sat together for most of the morning and into the afternoon, filled with fear, sadness and anger. I will never forget.
And although Alex is too young to remember, I will teach him about the tragedy of that day when he is old enough to really understand the gravity of the situation. For now, his young mind knows that bad people exist, and sometimes they do very bad things.
More importantly, however, the boy is PROUD to be an American, and I am proud to be his Momma.
I firmly believe that in order to be a decent human being, you must experience life. Like, truly and deeply live your life bravely, boldly and confidently.
Alex is bold, but he's not very brave. For example, when other kids are playing "throw the ball in the pool" at Aunt Jane's house, Alex is prancing around a tree, flailing his arms and singing "I'm running arounnnnnd the treeeeeee, Mooooommmmmm." (<--Which I LOVE and adore and will encourage him to continue to march to the beat of his own drum. So step off the judgment train, mmkay?) And we're learning confidence. Like when we're at the park and he has trepidation about going down a big slide...but then he musters the courage and does it and we cheer him on like he's won gold in London. #thoseparents
Because that's what parents do. It's what parenting is. You encourage your kids, whether they fail or succeed. And if they fail, you dust them off for another go 'round when what you REALLY want to do is lock them in a bubble for the next 10 years. Until other kids aren't mean anymore. Until germs don't exist. Until life is always easy. Until no one breaks their heart. Unfortunately, that world doesn't exist.
So instead of the bubble, I'm choosing to do the next best thing: Let him do everything in this world that he wants to do. Except diving. He can't be a diver. All I see is smashed faces into diving boards. No diving. I want him to try new things and experience things that are outside his comfort zone.
At 60 that might mean a trip around the world. At 50 that might mean white water rafting for the first time (Hi, Dad). At 40 it might mean a red corvette. At 30 it might mean becoming a Dad or getting a new job. At 20 it might mean falling in love for the first time. At 10 it might mean mastering a new Lego creation.
And at 3, it means gymnastics. Learning to take instructions from someone other than Aunt Jane and Mom. Learning to make new friends in a strange environment. Learning how your little body can do new and scary things. Essentially, learning to be brave, bold and confident.
Joe and I sat in the parents' viewing loft last week during his very first class amazed at how he's grown. Amazed at how this thing we created embraced a new challenge. He listened so well, paying painful attention to what his teacher asked him to do. He tried so hard, wanting to be good at everything and to earn the praise of his teacher. And not once did he look up to the balcony for reassurance from Mom and Dad. He was strong, confident, brave and ADORABLE.
I'm not entirely sure how I'll be brave enough to let him go for the many, many milestones we have ahead of us. But I know that I will continue to try to be the best Mom I know how to be to help him achieve any of the milestones that he wants to achieve in life. But for now, galloping around a tree in Jane's backyard is all the milestone I need...but this once a week gymnastics business is a step in the right direction.
And for your viewing pleasure... (I recommend making the first one full screen, as it's too cute to not be life sized.)
Up until the new house, Alex was still in his crib. Boy loves his sleep like his Momma (read: very much) and never tried to climb out, so we didn't mess with a good thing. However, we thought the new house was as good a time as any to transition him into his big boy room.
I asked him what he wanted his room to look like, and to no one's surprise, he asked for race cars. I totally delivered on that promise.
Uncle Kyle helped me get the bed into the room...
And by the time he got home from daycare, it was ready for him to see:
And with the exception of a few random fears (all solved with the purchase of a Dreamlight...and if your kids watch the Sprout channel, I'm SO sorry that the DreamlightDreamlightStarryNightWithDreamlight commercial will now be playing in our head all day long), the transition to the big boy bed has been a successful one!
