A Last First

Does anyone else get sad when they think of all of the last firsts? Yesterday was C's first birthday and I am sad that it has come and gone. Oh, I am glad that he is growing up and it has been interesting seeing the little person he is becoming, but it is also bittersweet that my last baby has passed this milestone.

We celebrated at home with just the five of us, but I am thankful that the five of us were able to be here, and it looks like we'll be able to share the next year's worth of birthdays together, which is also exciting. Given our batting average with birthdays as a family, this is another huge milestone.

But C is now walking and has had his first birthday and first dental appointment; he is not that interested in talking yet and hasn't really gotten the hang of solid foods, but all-in-all, he's growing up fast and all of these little milestones are hard for me, since he is our baby, and likely our last. But he is an amazing little man, so I plan on enjoying every bit of the way.

A lucky woman

I really am a lucky woman. I have three kids who adore me and a husband who really thinks of me and of my feelings. We didn't do a whole lot today due to the creepy crud we've been fighting here, and now the princess is feeling rough too.

This afternoon the three kids went down for a nap at the same time (ahhhhh - angels singing) and I was able to relax a little bit (after doing the dishes, finishing a few loads of laundry, etc). While I planned out a trip to the grocery store after naps were over, my hubby calls and offers to pick up enough to get us through the next day or so, saving us all a trip out today. Such a small thing, but it reminds me how much he thinks of us and does his part to help out. It was a great gift and I am a lucky woman.

Turning NO into YES

This morning my little princess asked me to make Heart pancakes, and pulled out a heart shaped cake pan. I said, no, we don't use that pan for pancakes, and I don't really feel like making shaped pancakes with the cookie cutters today. The boys and I have the seasonal crud and frankly I haven't slept well in weeks and all I could do was think about how icky I felt. Yup - all about me.

Meanwhile, my little morning glory has happily moved on to helping me get the pancake ingredients (uh, not so hard - cheating and using mix today due to above mentioned cruddy feeling). As we mixed the pancakes and I got the frying pan into place, and scooped up some batter to make the first cake, I looked at the beautiful face of my little princess and thought about how easy it would be to make the pancake a "perfect" heart and brighten her morning instead of a round pancake.

And so I poured the batter into the rough shape of a heart and her eyes lit up and she was so excited about the "heart pancakes" that I made just for her. She was happy and a simple slip of the hand showed her yet again that I love her and want her to be happy. And yet, the whole thing started with a disappointed girl because my first instinct was a no. I need to again think about making no's into yes's more often. Such a simple change brightened both of our mornings.