To My Sweet Baby Oliver

I have finally gotten around to writing Oliver's baby letter.  Life is so busy and time just keeps slipping away.  I can't believe how big my tiny little baby has gotten already!

Enjoy.

To My Sweet Baby Oliver,

You are a gift I never thought I would receive   I didn't realize how much I needed a son until you came along and made my life complete.   You are such a happy baby, a ray of sunshine in the lives of everyone who loves you.  You are the very definition of courageous.  I didn't know what it meant to be brave until I was given the opportunity to watch you fearlessly conquer the world. You are energy personified, always climbing and crawling, laughing and screaming, going and doing.  It is exhilarating to try to keep up with you each day.  You are so smart.  You only have to see something once and you’re ready to master it.  You are so amazingly loving.  It is pure joy to be on the receiving end of one of your hugs or cuddles.  I am absolutely in awe of you and I love you more than anything in the world.

There are so many things that I love about you.  I love your bright blue eyes.  I love your sweet little smile.  I love the way you fall asleep each night with your head on my chest.  I love the way you reach out for me in the night to make sure I’m still next to you.  I love the way you wake up each morning with messy hair and a sleepy smile on your face.  I love the way you daringly climb everything you can, even when it scares me half to death.  I love how you always seem to know exactly what you want, even if no one else can figure it out.  I love the way you are completely delighted by your big sister.  I love your adorable temper tantrums.  I love the way you squeal with laughter.  I love how you somehow manage to be both clingy and independent.  I love how you fit perfectly into our family as if you were always meant to be.

I love you every minute of every day.  There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you happy and safe.

“You are so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine.” –Dumbo

Love Always and Forever,
Mommy
(written on April 29^th, when you are 10 months old)

Two-Child Family

When Oliver was only a month old I blogged that I thought I would enjoy having two kids… one day.  At the time I was still reeling from all the change and I was way too overwhelmed to really enjoy anything.  I realized recently, though, that the day has finally come.  I officially love having two children.  I think I have loved it for some time, but the knowledge has only recently slipped into my conscious mind.  Yes, things are still difficult at times.  There are still those moments when both kids are screaming and I feel like I'm enduring some exotic form of endless torture.  But I'm sure that there will always be difficult times.  Now, though, there are enough wonderful moments to make the challenging ones worth it.

Moments when I pose them together for a photo op, with Emma's arms wrapped around Oliver's little body, and they both give me a dazzling smile at the exact same time.  Those pictures make it worth it.  Moments when Emma makes Oliver laugh, and then his laughter cracks her up in return.  Their mingled joy and Oliver's little squeals of excitement make it worth it.  Moments when Emmalee gives Oliver a hug and says, "I love you, Little Brudder."  Those words make it worth it.  And moments at night when I'm lying on my side in bed with Emma spooned up against my front and Oliver cuddled up against my back, and my heart is so full of love and contentment that I think I could burst.  Those moments make it worth it.

So, yes, I love having two children.  There are rough moments, but we persevere, because we are a two-child family now.  We've got a routine and enough love and hugs and kisses to go around.  The dust has settled.  We've adjusted.  And I think it’s safe to say, we wouldn't have things any other way.