5 years ago today - Ian

It's hard to believe my baby turned 5 today! Where has the time gone and how did he get so big? 5 years ago today changed my life forever as I entered into being a mother. Ian was born at 6:18am weighing 5lbs 6oz. This morning at 6:18am he weighed in around 50lbs :) Although I spent most of his first day here heavily drugged and sleeping - I do distinctly remember the moment he was born and the first time I heard him cry. I remember holding him in my arms and thinking "how is this tiny thing going to grow into a real person?" Well, 5 years later it's hard to imagine he was actually that tiny thing at all. He's tall, athletic, smart, nice, fun, loving, and gentle - also he's loud, sassy, and rambunctious. Although at times, I feel overwhelmed by him I wouldn't trade him for the world.

Now that he's becoming a real little person - I think I'm starting to get an idea of who he's going to be. The type of guy in high school that everyone likes - not too popular but not unpopular either. Friends with everyone. In college (or not if he continues to hate the idea of going to college) the mildly involved, fun loving guy. Gets good grades but has fun doing it. I think he's going to make a positive difference in a lot of people's lives as he makes his way through his own.

Here's a little look at the then and now:

The Magic of "2"

I don't know if anyone can explain the mysterious age 2. Does anyone know the answers of what's so special about 2? It's like a magical transformation happens between the time they go to sleep and are 23 months old and wake up at 24 months old. Mood swings, rapid onset of speech (and sassy-ness), temper tantrums, unprovoked silly-ness (see picture to follow), and the immediate urge to be a big boy combined with the sudden inability to walk anywhere on his own. It's quite amazing to witness when I can take the time to step back and see the "2s" grabbing hold of my son. His newest obsession is Ian's bed. Ian sleeps in a twin and Jesse has always loved playing on the bed but now he insists on going to sleep in Ian's bed. Last night he was kicking and screaming about not wanting to go to sleep in his crib, yelling out "Ian's bed, Ian's bed" - so I tucked him in and left......3 minutes later he was fast asleep. Today for nap - same thing, kicking screaming, saying "Ian's bed" - so I tucked him in gave him his Snook and Elmo dolls and left......not a peep out of him and 5 minutes later when I checked on him - fast asleep. I'm not sure I'm ready for him to switch to a "big boy bed". Ian didn't move from the crib until he was nearly 3 - and that was because he was getting too big.

I know our little buddy, Simon, is already in a bed (a toddler bed) but Jesse would move straight into a full height twin.....he seems so small. They say second children move faster through the milestones, and I can see that. Jesse wants to be/do/have everything the same as Ian. I've never seen such a connection between siblings like that. I'm pretty sure at this age my sister and I were already fighting and not getting along (much better now though, right Donna). :)

So here's Jesse' first major bought of sillies after turning 2. We were sitting at the table eating our breakfast for dinner (eggs and toast and ham)...when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see this:

Jesse thought it was the funniest thing in the world to simply put his buttered toast, buttered side down of course, on his head and laugh uncontrollably. We of course laughed (our first mistake) and then tried to convince him not to do it again. He's always been prone to rubbing food on his head (Olive Garden bread sticks being on of his favorites) but never for the shear fun of it - he's never laughed about it before, but rather just did it. This was an act of thoughtful comedy. :) What am I going to do with him?

Catch up

OKay - so February is finally over and it appears that although there is plenty on the calender, that life is starting to slow down. So, this is my chance to update everyone on the fun we had this past month. The beginning was mostly planning and trying to stay ahead of the game, then my birthday rolled around. We had a really nice dinner out with friends and Wendy made me a very delicious chocolate cake :) The boys bought me a super soft body pillow and cool plastic glasses (I love drinking out of plastic glasses, is very retro Pizza Hut in my head). Sam bought me a beautiful pendant from my QVC wish list. I love it! :) Then it was full speed ahead to Jesse's birthday.

The party was incredible. We had a great crowd filled with family and friends - all who showed us great support in our journey to bring Jesse home. I don't think he realized everyone was there for him and when Happy Birthday was sung he wilted into my arms. And we should have practiced blowing out the candles - I think he thought I was going to drop him into the cake. It just never occurred to me. But playing and socializing with everyone he thought was great. We served delicious Thai food (which I really should have ordered more of) and bagels with cream cheese. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves - and having so many kids (nearly 20 between the ages of 2-14) made it a lot of fun all around. Jesse loved opening his presents! He kept yelling "presents" every time someone new arrived at the party with a shiny package. It was really hard on Ian, being this was his first experience where someone else got all the presents, but he got over it the next day and since he gets to play with everything anyway......

On his actually birthday (the day ofter his party) we opened more presents and went to dinner. Again, I'm not sure he really grasp the whole thing but we kept reminding him it was his special day. I'm sure he'll catch on by next year.

After all the craziness, I thought it would be fun for a field trip to museum - there was a new Clifford, The Big Red Dog exhibit we still hadn't seen. Here is Ian hamming it up with Emily Elizabeth (who is sitting on Clifford foot). The whole thing is really great if you're familiar with the cartoon and the books. Everything looked exactly the same - and Clifford himself I think was over 8 feet tall.
Then I got some me time and went to a jewelry "class". It was more like rented space in a bead shop, but the owner did teach me a few tricks and showed me all the materials I needed. I had bought a few beads ahead of time and just supplemented with accents from the shop. I"m so super proud of my bracelet I made - I've worn it for 3 days in a row :) Here's a picture at my first attempt at jewelry design and making. Let me know what you think.