One Year Within a Blink of an Eye

I remember July 12, 2013 like it was yesterday...I had my precious monkey in the wee hours, after an 18 hour day at the hospital, in a heat wave,  during probably the busiest baby season BC Womens had seen. Now, one year has passed and Caiden just blew out candles on his first birthday cake at his first birthday party.  I honestly cannot believe how fast the year has gone by.

When you become a mom, there is much anticipation about each coming phase. A baby brings so many lessons and learnings each and every week it seems.  Your baby is growing daily, right before your eyes,  cm by cm, pound by pound.  You start living your life in milestones vs actual dates..."when was that dinner date?  oh right 3 months ago when Caiden started crawling."   There is so much happening, so much developing that no wonder time seems to fly by.

Kind of makes me sad as I wish I could slow it down, just a tad, though I love seeing my boy grow, I know I will be saying this same thing yearly. 

Caiden's birthday bash was a huge success.  We decided to do a summer park barbeque with all our family and friends, lots of food, games, water park, and of course cake!  Fittingly,  the theme was Curious George, oddly I seemed to have an affinity to monkeys from pregnancy to now with Caiden.  The theme worked well and everyone had a great time, including the birthday boy.  It was on the hottest day of the year, but of course we had tents and freezies galore. With the kids enjoying the water, pinata and sweets, the rest of us enjoyed taking snapshots in the curious george photo booth.

The best part was during the cake cutting, I was a little apprehensive that he would freak out. We had a mini cupcake smash photo session a few days earlier and he hated it! However, this happy guy realized everyone was singing to him, realized he was the centre of attention and started laughing and clapping himself!  Though, no, he didn't like eating or touching the cake. 

No surprise,  Caiden was spoiled rotten with more gifts, toys and clothes...he is one lucky guy. 

We wrapped up the day and felt a bit relieved.  The event was a lot of work and planning,  but not only did we get to see everyone participate and enjoy, but we really saw our baby acting like a big boy enjoying in his own way. Seeing him laugh and realizing we have made it through the year raising what seems to be a happy kid, for now, melted my heart.  

I wanted to remember him growing into this one year old boy so we had a poster/collage made. 

Sigh...one year already. 

Happy Birthday Caiden!

Some Stuff I Never Realized Until Now

Being a mother is amazing,  no question about that.  If you have been reading all along you already know just how much sheer joy it brings me. Yes, I know...my child has not yet reached the terrible twos.  So let me bask in how utterly awesome it is...giddily great.

Most of my already mommy friends painted a pretty picture of that for me. They look wonderful,  kids look great and they look like they get it all done.  But here I would like to tell you the things I didn't realize (not bad just different).  I know I may not be the only one that doesn't always have it all together. C'mon now.

Here we go:

I never realized that taking a quick shower with long hair was ever possible.  I may not always get a chance to fully rinse the shampoo out sometimes... never mind always conditioning (that's a luxury now).

I never realized the universal use of wet wipes.  I have been guilty of wiping up spills, my own face, and even feet with those bad boys.  Hey I buy in bulk...good thing.

I never realized that for a foodie like me, it is okay to eat your dinner cold.  After taking a few bites your kid needs something,  when they are settled sometimes you just can't be bothered to warm it up for fear of disturbing him...or you just are that hungry and you don't care at this moment.

I never realized that I would rock a ponytail as often as I do. No its not fashionable but it beats hair on the floor galore and prevents hair pulling.

I never realized how doing nothing is still something.  You never are doing nothing, but when someone asks what you did today, though you stayed home and reply "nothing" that's just simply understated. You are just a well oiled machine on auto-pilot. 

I never realized that I owned so many tights or yoga pants...because that has become the outfit of choice more often than not.

I never realized how annoyed you can get with your partner...for no reason other than you each contest to who is more tired.  Is it really a competition?  Yes, I like to point out I win this round daily...in my mind.

I never realized how much my son would look like his dad...no complaints but yeah he looks a lot like daddy.

I never realized how much I would need to sneak in and out of a room or whisper talk to hubby. We whisper a lot now...didn't know we knew how to.

I never realized how great wine would taste after abstaining for so long. On that note, I never realized you could forget how to even select or purchase wine at a liquor store...yes I was caught looking at a few bottles for quite some time.

Lastly,  I never realized just how much you wouldn't care about much of anything else. For a natural stress case, such as me,  that sounds impossible.  However, I have entered a phase of not caring to people please,  not caring to worry so much of things that you have  no control over; time is precious and your mat leave should be spent as happily as possible.  Which is why I ignored my agenda as much as possible and this is the most important realization I came to.

No point in getting bogged down with "to dos" daily when your one year goes by so fast.  I'm glad I enjoyed my Caiden baby time because, although people told me so...

...I just never realized how fast they grow and how fast time flies...wow. 

Top 10 Things About Being a Mommy

1.  Watching them sleep at night, so peaceful and angelic and cute...you forget all the tiredness of chasing them during the day

2.  Tiny arms and hands wrapping around you with full warmth...you forget they also know by now to pull hair

3.  Hearing a baby laugh is literally the most precious sound in the world

4.  You can bask in hearing how beautiful your baby is and you say to yourself "yup I made that"

5.  You get VIP seats to all the stages in their growing life...as you are their biggest fan. Then you don't hesitate to record and share with loved ones what's the newest accomplishment

6.  You have a legitimate reason to relive your childhood; watch sesame street, play with blocks, read Robert Munch, display stuffed animals

7.  It's cool to go to bed at 9

8.  Maternity leave (thank the lord we get a full year because you need it)

9.  You will never be bored...again

10.  No matter how tough it can be, how worried you get, how stressful a stage may be, or how tired you get...you feel absolute glee like never before. No other gig gives that satisfaction

....this is all of course before they start talking...

A few things to catch up on... including sleep

It's been a while hasn't it?

After the 4 month regression period I heard that another one occurs between the 8 to 10 month period,  and that this is the one that is tough to get through.  Boy was that an understatement! 

By 5 months, sure enough Caiden fell back into his fantastic sleeping style (basically falling asleep on own, waking up only once, at most twice,  through the night). All was well,  we were well rested,  then it came...hits you hard and all of a sudden...the sleep regression...again.

Sometime after turning 7.5 months,  just before 8 months,  Caiden started waking up ALL hours of the night and hated being put down...there was no more sleeping on own. It's definitely rattling as you immediately think "what am I doing wrong?  Am I not feeding him enough?  Is he teething?  Is he uncomfortable or in pain?"  There were nights he woke up hourly,  and he would cry if I placed him in crib, the second you put him in; this lasted almost 2 months! During this,  you surely start losing your mind,  Vick and I took turns blaming eachother when we got frustrated due to exhaustion; keep in mind I stopped my afternoon naps at this point because he had reached a stage of basically sleeping through the night prior. I asked other moms and our doctor, and reassuringly found out that this is normal.  Sometimes it's just good to hear others are going through the same thing! 
Here's what happening during this time:
-HUGE development stage (learning to sit, crawl, explore)
-discovering that they are not attached to you,  so separation anxiety even from just leaving the room for a moment.
-may be starting to teeth, even if teeth haven't pushed through,  something is likely occurring below the gums (poor guy)

This was all true in Caiden's case. So because of all this, it's expected to go through this phase of disturbed sleeping. You think it won't end, but it does. It's as  tough as they warned, and you do get worried that he's sleeping enough (even though naps are ok), and you try different things just in case...but it's all ok, this too passes.  Just a few weeks ago we noticed he has started almost sleeping through the night again,  he is starting to sleep in his crib without a fuss again,  and he plays in his play pen without crying if we momentarily step away. It was a phase!

Mind you,  I still put him to bed,  but honestly my baby is only going to be a baby for so long that I really don't mind that. In fact I cherish that moment of reading to him,  then singing and soothing him to sweet sleep.

So what has my little monster (not really a monster,  we lucked out he's a good baby...not a crazy whiner or crier...yet) been up to?
-He learned to sit completely on his own...like a pro. He sits up always,  even during a diaper change.
-He learned to clap his hands, on command and for fun...in fact even when he first learned he wouldn't stop!
-He is officially crawling! He was practicing for a while and would just get angry but surely be figured it out. Though recently he likes to just do the military crawl/slide...funny guy
-He baby talks ALL the time now.  Most of it is discovering sounds but just very recently started saying "momma" then "dadda" and to us!  BEST FEELING EVER!

It's been a busy couple of months, despite less sleep...but amazing!  Now it really feels like time is rushing by, as he is growing and learning these new things which are propelling him to be less dependent on us for movement. It's kind of sad how fast he's growing.  Every day now is literally a new discovery or learning,  there is so much for him to explore and try that it's no surprise why time won't stand still. We are right there watching with excitement and pride and sheer glee...enjoying all these moments is what makes it go all that much more faster.

I'm just trying to capture it, photographically yes, but more in my heart in mind.  It's an indescribable feeling to watch your baby grow.

Ohhhh my bear,  mommy and daddy love you!

Cute cartoon...very true, well so far

Roly Poly Oly

This little guy of mine, well he's not so little, is full of energy and is a super frisky munchkin!  He's not crawling, honestly I'm in no hurry for that,  but moves around like crazy.  This was indicative in my belly however... he was active even then.

Before, diaper changes were a breeze; not anymore folks! Caiden now wants to roll over,  constantly, kick, play, hide under any fabric object,  all while, yes, I try to change him.  As crazy as it gets it's incredibly endearing to see. Wow, he's getting stronger,  bigger and more playful by the day.  My once simple baby is developing not only motor and physical skills,  but a vibrant and enthusiastic personality - to boot!  When you hold him upright,  or if in his exer-saucer, he goes ballistic jumping up and down.  When you give him a blanket,  he plays peek-a-boo.  When you put him on his back and try to put a onesie on, he rolls on to his stomach and giggles.  I love it... though yes it's a bit tougher.

All this new activity is kind of scary though.  Scary in the sense that he will be mobile soon, after which come the inevitable falls,  bumps,  and bangs. I can't picture myself being gracefully accepting of that...he's too precious.  Ok, yes I may be a little attached,  but whatever.  I realize there's nothing you can do... as he grows he will explore,  which is fantastic.  He is becoming an actual person wanting to do things himself and it's officially a stage he's entering where the ball will be rolling faster and faster,  as he grows exponentially fast and becomes less dependent on us for movement.

I kind of like him still needing mommy, but I know that stage is nearing its expiration  in a sense (more realized as I know my maternity leave will be up in a few months).  Feels like I'm not ready, wasn't he just born?  Well I guess that's how every mother feels.  Instead of looking at my list of things to do, I think I will just make the most of every day I get to spend with Caiden before we both have to do our own things.

Ahhh my baby is growing so fast,  not to be corny but seriously where does the fricking time go???