Blake’s 2nd birthday is coming up in 4 weeks. I can’t believe it. This blog has been going for nearly 2 years! I remember starting it, and all of my new-mommy-emotions that flooded from my fingertips. I haven’t been the best at keeping it updated like I once did, but I do think about updating it often. During my free time at home, after Blake goes to bed and my husband and I have settled down for the night, I’m usually writing lesson plans, or answering parent emails. I’m not sure how it’s expected that teachers balance a family, and work AND be expected to get it all done, but I guess that can be said about every job out there. (So if you have found a perfect way to do the balance act with 50 plates stacked on your head, 15 forks stacked up on your left foot, while eating a banana with your right hand, let me know.)
I wanted to use this post to talk about where we are now and what a sweet boy my little man is growing in to.
We visited the ENT a few weeks ago and he asked that we come back in a few months to reevaluate, saying we may want to consider having his adenoids removed, depending on how things go from now until then. The issue is that his frequent ear infections/fluid and colds seem to be on the cusp. They are more frequent than the average, but not frequent enough above the average to warrant any kind of surgery. I am grateful no one is jumping to conclusions, of course, but at the same time it’s frustrating as a mom to be dealing with colds on a regular basis, because when I look around me, other kids do not seem to have the frequency mine does.
He had some fluid in his ears a few weeks ago, cleared up by the time we went to the ENT, of course. Two days later he had a pretty bad cough going on. That cleared up. Then he caught the stomach bug last week, which we are STILL dealing with. He’s had diarrhea for 6 days now. When I called the pediatricians office they said he needs to be on an all white food diet for the next 5 days. Sheesh, is that hard to do! But, we’ve been managing. This stomach bug that’s going around is brutal!
Then, last night he started coughing again like crazy! Daycare said he had a hard time sleeping because his nose was so runny and he was coughing so often. I’m documenting everything for our next ENT appointment. (Just went in his room tonight to give him some cough meds and turn on the humidifier with essential oils to hopefully help him sleep. I’m really into essential oils these days!) Hopefully this cold goes away on its own and he’ll back healthy for a while at least.
Despite the ups and downs of illnesses, Blake is thriving.
He’s talking more and more every day and is stringing 2-3 words together. I swear that happened overnight! It’s kind of crazy that I can almost carry on a conversation with him. Funny, he’s gone from calling me “Momma” to “MOM!” when he’s a little mad at me or really wants to get my attention. Didn’t realize kids caught onto that so young!
Lawn Mowers remain to be his favorite, with cars, trucks, fire trucks, motorcycles, boats, and bikes being a close second. Yes, he’s very much into transportation and things that move.
It’s been so amazing to watch his mind grow, his brain develop, and his personality quirks come to life. He’s only two and I can tell you that he’s going to be smart, stubborn, bossy, kind (yes, I believe those last two can exist together), silly, driven, and eccentric.
He can count to 5, identify the colors black, brown, white, orange, red, blue, green, pink, yellow, and purple by saying them AND signing them! He loves to build and stack objects. He’s an incredibly picker eater and he’d definitely live off of yogurt, fruits, and carbs if we let him. He doesn’t like it when any thing is “duddy” (dirty). He doesn’t want to lay down to sleep if there are toys on his floor. He loooooooves to read (his current favorite is “Cars”). He HATES it when you cut up or break apart his food. For instance, I have to give him a whole banana, because he won’t eat it if I half it. If I give him a PBJ, he’s the only one allowed to break it. He will not eat a granola bar if I’ve made little pieces out of it. He’s the only one who has Blake’s permission to tear apart his food, because apparently it is completely ruined if any one else does it. He doesn’t like straw cups, unless it’s mommy or daddy’s. As soon as he breaks a crayon he wants to immediately throw it in the trash, and he refuses to use it broken. He likes puzzles, matching games, and driving daddy’s truck (meaning, he sits in the seat while it’s parked, we turn the truck on, he pretends he’s driving and he pushes as many cool buttons as he can as the air blasts him in the face). He likes to help his friends at school by pushing them on bicycles outside. He loves to help with chores, like folding (ahem, unfolding) laundry, and emptying the dishwasher. He likes to use tools to fix random things around the house (You know, Lamby needs a little wrench to fix his eye every once in a while). Head banging at night is still an all time favorite. Milk always had to accompany dinner, not water. He has a love/hate relationship with Darth Vader, who is kind of cool, and kind of scary, too, it seems. “No” means “no”, and “Oh” means “yes”. (His “Oh”=”yes” is so stinkin’ cute that I don’t have the heart to correct him to say “yes” because I just love this about him!)
His personality development has been my favorite thing to watch. The fact that he catches on to things so quickly tells me he definitely has my husband’s genes. I told him one time that my favorite color was pink and now when I ask him what mommy’s favorite colors is he says and signs “Pink!” So sweet. I think his favorite color is going to be red, the color of fire trucks (and most lawn mowers, of course).
When I think back on the last 2 years, I feel like I’m thinking back in a fog, not fully comprehending that it’s actually been two years since he was born. In those hard mommy moments where I was certain time was never going to move forward, I find that we are here, magically transported to today, where he is peacefully sleeping 12-13 hours a night. Those hard moments feel like they were just yesterday. That yesterday that I was certain was never ever, ever, ever going to end.
Michael and I go back and forth when it comes to having another kid. In the beginning of Blake’s life, the answer was definitely no. It was just too much for us to handle or imagine to even consider having another somewhere down the line, and when you have one kid with as many issues as we had with him, adding another with potentially the same just seemed exhausting and unbearable. Most days now we say that we do want another one, but would want to wait another year. The biggest concern for me right now is to get the “all clear” from my doctor to know whether having another one would be safe for me, with the issues I had during pregnancy, birth, and some things that have been going recently with all my cysts. I should hopefully be seeing the doctor again by next month to know if even having another one is feasible for us at all. It seems a little premature to be thinking about another until I have the all clear, but it is a conversation Michael and I have had. In the end, I really do think we’d want at least one more, but we’re both probably a little hesitant until we find out if we even should for medical reasons. Whatever that outcome may be, I’m still so blessed that Blake is here. Blessed that I was able to have him, after fears I was never going to be able to have a kid, and that I didn’t lose him, and that I made it through delivery! Everything tells me that Blake is on this earth for a reason. To change the world! (Does every parent think that about their child? That’s probably a little bit of an overzealous statement, and probably an annoying one…..sorry…..)
Time is a crazy thing. It’s slow in the present, and quickly in the past. I know I can’t slow it down. I don’t think I want to, anyway. There are new and exciting things happening with Blake every day that warm my heart. As much as I know that I’ll never hold him where he’ll fit in the crevice of my forearms anymore, we have so much to look forward to! When I picked him up from daycare today he was carrying on some 2-year old conversation with a friend as they were playing on the playmatts on the floor. They were butting heads on purpose, and talking and laughing about it. When the other boy fell off the matts and rolled onto the floor, Blake climbed down and helped him up. Those are more of the moments that I long for, watching his heart grow.
I know his birthday isn’t until next month, and I’m not ready to reflect and get nostalgic before it’s official, but, between work, and planning for a lawn mower birthday party (which I have no idea exactly how I’m going to pull off), updating is unfortunately getting put on the back burner.
So, if I don’t have a blog opportunity to say it before the big day, happy almost 2 years old, not only to Blake, but to this online writing platform that has gotten me through so much! Thank you, blog, (yes, I am personifying you), and to everyone who has read it over the years, for listening to my rants and raves. My ups and downs. My screaming in the middle of the night. My tears. My “why is this happening to me?” posts. My prayers. My thoughts and muses. My recommendations. My happiness. My fears. My questionable mommy moments. My advice. My mishaps. My misfortunes. My life over the past 2 years.
I feel like I may wake up tomorrow and we will be at year 4. Hold on!
Mommisadventures 