In Coming!

"Watch out for Little Man!" I call to Sweet One as he runs at her wielding part of her magnetic doll. It is raised above his head and he is about to throw it at hers when she hears my warning, turns to find the safest route of escape and runs.

Last night Little Man chuckled when he realized I had just emptied the plastic garbage bin in our upstairs bathroom. He picked it up and said, "Hit! Hit!" as he launched it towards the wall. We received a package in the mail this morning and he smiled as I gave it to him. "Hit! Hit!" I was barely in time to stop him from whacking it against the table.

Sweet One sits in front of the tv enjoying one of her shows when the next thing she knows, her brother is wrapping his arms around her head and trying to flatten her.

Now there are other moments when Sweet One is screaming, "No Little Man!" because she is afraid he's coming in for one of his attacks when in fact he is only coming in for a snuggle. But this little boy is 'all. boy.' and it's exhausting! I'm starting to wonder if I might be able to find a straight jacket for him so I can stop him from hitting everyone and everything that he sees.

The Never Ending Breakfast

My son loves breakfast. There must be something that happens while he is sleeping at night. Perhaps he's dreaming that all the food he wants to eat is running away from him. If I had a dream that coffee (even though it's decaf) was running away from me, I'd want to drink as much as I can in the morning! Whatever it is that gets his appetite going, there's nothing to stop it once he wakes up.

Take this morning. It is 9:08 and he is on his second breakfast. He started out around 7:30 with a healthy serving of steel cut oats (we make them in the crockpot and then eat leftoers). Shortly after his sister left for preschool he was screaming bloody murder, only settling down once he was in my arms and could see the evidence that more food was on the way. He is now just finishing up a scrambled egg and two mini gluten free muffins. (Minus the nuts. My kids don't like the nuts. And minus the gluten. I subbed out the regular flour.) His plate is now on his head to show me that there is absolutely nothing left on it. Frozen blueberries it is!

There are other mornings when we don't make eggs and he'll eat up to four helpings of the oatmeal. At first I couldn't believe he was always so hungry but then once I got used to throwing food at him every 45 minutes or so, he got a little less cranky in the mornings. On Big Love's day off, I still have to remind him that no matter what time it is in the morning, even if he ate half an hour prior, if Little Man is fussy it is most likely that he is indeed starving and will die if he doesn't have something else in his mouth immediately. When in doubt, add food. Especially if it is before noon.

He'll still eat a decent lunch for the most part and then he seems to taper off his eating until supper.

Well, he's on his second helping of the blueberries, has a decent blueberry beard and a few blue streaks in his hair. The commentary as he puts them in his mouth is quite nice, as is the head bob. It really must be a party going on inside his mouth!

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Little Man's birthday was this past Sunday and it was wonderful. Unbeknownst to me, Sweet One was having a second wave of being sick (which then got diagnosed as a sinus infection on Tuesday) but she sure didn't show it as she played with their friends and fulfilled her role as the little host very well. She passed out the balloons and the treats. She also helped Little Man open his gifts!

Little Man spent most of his time showing off his new walking skills. It blew my mind that only three days before he took four little steps to me and by Sunday he was putting a dozen together! These little kids and their ability to master new skills will never cease to amaze me.

One of my favorite parts of this party was that we had kids there. When Sweet One turned 1 our guests were six adults all past the age of retirement. It is so nice that things have changed in the past three years. I had some crafts for the kids to do because I was a little worried about having 9 adults and 7 kids in my little house but the chaos ended up seeming more manageable that I had anticipated.

Little Man wanted nothing to do with the cupcakes of his cake, preferring the chocolate head instead. He isn't that much unlike the caterpillar - gorging himself when he can so that his body can always be ready for the new ways he will grow!

 I still have a lot to learn about cake decorating, but I was happy that the only after photo I have of it involved crumbs and a few leftovers rather than a crime scene of dolls and icing!

We're told over and over as parents to enjoy it while it lasts. They'll never be as little as they are right now. And it is true. The immensity of growth and change that happens in a child's first year is not something I have the words to describe. I only know that a year ago he was my little helpless baby who did not much more than to eat, poop and sleep. Now he is blazing his own path, a few steps at a time, as he learns to walk and voice his opinion in the only ways he can. The smile in his eyes when he sees me will melt my heart forever, just as the way he flops his head sideways on me to say, "I love you, MumMum!". I want to hold these moments forever because I know it won't be long before he is a three year old who is making me wonder if I'm going to survive the year! (Yes, today had some particularly difficult minutes! A few of which I wish I could change.)

Happy Birthday, Little Man. You are amazing. I don't know what I would do without you and I hope I can mother you in the way you deserve and help you grow to be a confident and courageous man.