Humility.....

Yes, its true. Before I had a child of mine own I would often find myself passing judgement on parents whose children didn't sleep well. Yes, I would think things like, "When we have a baby I'm going to do X so that my baby will sleep!" or "I won't have a 12 month old who doesn't sleep!" I didn't say these things out loud, but I definitely thought them.

And then, then I had Ryan. And while Ryan is many amazing and wonderful things, and awesome sleeper he is not! But early on, even before it became painfully obvious that he was a challenging sleeper (the boy didn't truly sleep through the night until he was 14 months old!) I realized a few key things. Namely, some parents are lucky and they are given the gift of a naturally awesome sleeper. Other parents, well, they're not so lucky and their kids are not and may never be great sleepers. Ryan seems to fall somewhere in the middle as he is now a pretty consistent and solid sleeper (unless he is sick, as he is now). But regardless of how Ryan sleeps I can say that I will never again pass judgement on a parent for how their child sleeps and I feel that I learned this very early on in my parenting experience. Giving birth to a not so great sleeper is a humbling experience indeed!

Recently, someone in my life had a child. We'll call the person Maggie and the child Bob. Well, Maggie has not yet learned the quality of humility. She is one of "the lucky ones" as Bob seems to have come out a good sleeper. At least he is so far (he's only 3 months old!). And let me tell you, Maggie will be sure to tell me that Bob is a GREAT sleeper and Ryan is not. THIS DRIVES ME UP A WALL! Can we all agree that at barely 3 months we can say a few things: 1) Bob could easily change his sleeping patterns and become a crappy sleeper. 2) At such a young age it is highly likely that Bob's propensity for sleep does not have a darn thing to do with anything that Maggie or her husband have done or not done, and that rather, Bob just likes to sleep.

Until Maggie made it a point to openly berate Ryan's sleeping pattern and applaud Bob's I can say that I was happy for her that she has a "sleeper." Now, yes, I am spiteful. I hope he stops sleeping through the night very soon and never does it again until he's 2. Am I wrong? ;)

You know your "baby" is growing up when....

Yes, indeed. We've had quite a few clear signs around here lately that Ryan is growing up...and fast. But one of the clearest just happened this week.

Ryan will often follow me to the bathroom. He likes to shut the door with me on the inside and him on the outside. Until recently when he would do this he would laugh at first but then start to cry until I opened it again. Well, this has changed.  Now, he shuts the door with gusto which is quickly followed by the pitter patter of his little feet running away. He is no longer thinking, "Where did Mommy go? I want Mommy!" No, now he is thinking, "Yes! Now I can get into all the things Mommy won't let me get into! YAY!"

The everyday....

Before becoming a parent I often imagined all the special times I would share with my child and my husband, and extended family. I dreamed about the fun outings (the fair, the zoo, the aquarium, etc), the family vacations, and special Holidays/Birthdays. I thought about how exciting and fufilling it would be to do and experience these things with my son or daughter. And all these things have been wonderful. But a very unexpected surprise has been how wonderful, meaningful and fufilling everyday simple family time has been and continues to be.

Some of my favorite moments as a Mom have been weekend days when we don't really do much of anything. Days like today. I got to sleep in because my wonderful husband takes Ryan out AND does the grocery shopping every Sunday morning. When I woke up and came downstairs I enjoyed my Dunkin Donuts coffee that my husband brought home for me. Then we went for a run as a family (Ryan in the jogging stroller) and stopped by the swings on the way home. Soon after that Ryan went down for a nap and Matt and I both got some work done. When Ryan woke up from his nap we all ate lunch and then went out to run errands together. Before coming home we stopped at a local lake and fed the ducks. We picked up some fresh fish at the local Fish Market, came home and ate dinner as a family. After dinner we read books, and played with blocks and trucks, and made a "cake" in Ryan's play kitchen. It was a day filled with simple every day pleasures. Being together, getting things done, and enjoying a few special moments on the swings and with the ducks. It was filled with laughter and hugs, tickle fights, and kisses. It was relaxing and busy all at the same time. When I think about growing our family these are the days that excite me....spending time with the people I love most in the entire world and just experiencing life together....everyday.