My baby boy was a binky lover. The minute I plopped that bink in his mouth, he was hooked. He's 4 years old now and we've been discussing the End of Binky for over a year now. We didn't want to push it. Our pediatrician said not to push it. Much to Kevin's chagrin, our pediatrician was all for keeping binky around as long as Micah wanted it. I agreed and my husband let me have my way on this one (thanks, babe).
But, I'm so very happy to report that Micah has been binky-free for three days now! Three nights without the binky! Two of those nights the binky was in his room with him, but he chose not to use it. (I should add that the binky was broken, and he knew I wouldn't buy another.) This morning he handed it over to his dad and asked him to hide it because he was done with it, and didn't want to see it anymore. Kevin brought it down to me and told me what had transpired. I bawled. Ugly-cried for a minute. Mourning the binky-baby, but also so, so proud of my big boy.
So, feel free to judge all you want about the fact that we let our babe have his bink until after he was 4 years old. It won't bother me because I think we did the right thing. And now I have to go order a Darth Vader mask, as promised, for a certain binky-free boy.
Today we participated in One Day Without Shoes. In the past, I've participated, but I haven't really felt the true impact of this day. Today I really got out there in my bare feet, and it made me think.
I spent the day trying to explain to Micah why we weren't wearing shoes. I talked about children who have to walk to school without shoes. About walking to the wells without shoes. He didn't get it. I tried to play TOMS youtube videos for him, but again, not clicking. It wasn't until we went to the park and joined a group of families for a TOMS walk that he began to understand that it wasn't just his crazy mama going barefoot today. Kids! Big kids! They were barefoot! In fact, they were the ones who organized the walk. This planted a seed in my little guy's head. I hope I can keep it growing.
Personally, I had a lot of emotions I didn't expect on our walk. I worried constantly over what Micah might step in while he ran ahead of me in his pitter-patter bare feet. Then I realized that some moms in developing countries don't have that luxury. They cannot worry about what their child might step in while without shoes. For some, shoes are just not an option. My heart hurt.
Oxfam posted today on their blog about TOMS One Day Without Shoes. The post put the question to the reader of whether or not raising awareness is enough. After seeing a group of privileged suburban kids out walking and being excited about raising awareness, I'm saying yes. After taking a moment to see how it might affect a mom to see her child without shoes everyday, I'm saying yes. And, while I do agree that TOMS doesn't solve the shoe problem, they are at least doing something about it. And, who knows where this awareness could lead? Nothing is ever "enough," but at least it is something, and I think it's something great.
Being a mom the second time around is definitely different. I'm way more relaxed with Lia than I was with Micah. Ah, but I do still have those moments of utter confusion, stress, and basket-dropping, so don't think it's magical or anything. One thing that does strike me is how much I've forgotten already. I was watching you tube videos with the kids recently (thank you apple tv) and I couldn't believe how little Micah was. How his tiny feet fit into his little sandals. How he waddled when he walked.
This knowledge makes me desperate to notice and remember each little moment of Lia's babyhood. I know I'll forget again, but this time I'm oh-so aware of how fleeting these moments are. How it's my last time (99.9% sure of this) with a baby to care for. To carry on my hip. To snuggle with in the wee early morning hours. To rock to sleep. To hear first words like cheese, cookie, and yummy. To teach. To learn from.
It also makes me take notice of my Big Boy even more. Soon he'll be off to kindergarten (okay, I still have 1.5 years), and then he'll be a surly boy, and then in college. I know it. So, I remember to take the time to have a light saber duel. To scoop him up as he runs towards me after school. To grab his hand and tell him how proud I am of him. To watch him try new things, and try again. To encourage. To teach. To learn from.
Some days, being a mom is exhausting and I'm quite sure that I suck at it. Other days, I feel like I'm doing okay and remember how truly lucky I am to have two wonderful children to fill my life with amazement.
Can you even believe that itty-bitty baby is now our big girl? I remember that our referral was joyous, but also a time of fear, as they had Lia Makbe's birth-date showing that she was almost 7 months old when this picture was taken. It took us a while to realize that her birth-date was most likely wrong (and it was), so those first few weeks were filled with worry. But, then we started to receive pictures like this one...
and like this one...
We seriously questioned whether she was the same baby, but mostly we breathed sighs of relief. She was growing (GROWING!) and obviously very healthy. And now? She's a beautiful, big chunkalove with a squishy belly and the most kissable cheeks ever.
Seriously, can you stand it? I smooch those cheeks all day long.
And? She's starting to walk, and dance! (Well, she actually started dancing before she could walk, to be honest.)
We're so happy she is home and is our little Lia Makbe. Our hilarious, loud, lovable, smoochable, baby girl.
Wait, what?! We have a four year old? How and when did this little bean-ball turn into a big boy?
Yes, it's true. Our little pumpkin-bum is a Big Boy. He no longer wants to be called, "baby," for any reason, at any time. He can spell and write his own name. He can ride a BIG boy bike. He is completely over the booster seat. He fights with me about wearing a pull-up at night because, "Spiderman does not wear pull-ups." (Of course Spiderman wears pull-ups to bed! Duh.) But, he can still crawl up into our arms and cuddlebug. He is still only 30 lbs (yay! - we finally hit 30!), and is still small enough to curl up on my lap. And... I love that.
Last weekend we celebrated with a party at a bouncy sportsy place. The kids got to play soccer and then go bounce - they loved it.
Going down the big slide. I'm still mad that I didn't make it down this slide!
The Birthday Boy in all of his glory.
And the Birthday Boy's adorable little sister.
Mic and his best girlfriend. He calls her Gaga. At the beginning of the party (when Gaga was late), I found Mic sitting all alone and asked, "What's wrong." He replied, "Mom, I NEED Gaga." They are adorable.
The Happy Birthday song! We started the song before the cake was placed in front of him and he freaked out and made us all start over. Apparently, we weren't doing it right. And, he wanted to fully enjoy the moment.
Opening presents with dad. This was a Storm Trooper costume from Mimi - a big hit!
After opening his gifts, everyone clapped for Micah. Kevin lifted him up and he appropriately raised his arm in the air. He is clearly ready for his rock-star days.
On his actual birthday, we had a dinner at Momo & Papa's house. This was where his BIG boy bike was waiting for him.
He loves his new bike. After riding it around he said, "I don't even know where this came from!" I told him it was from Mom, Dad, and Lia. He immediately jumped off the bike, ran over to Lia and gave her a big hug. Hugs for Kevin and I followed. He's a sweet boy.
Mic's Aunt & Uncle gave him a doctor costume for his birthday. He put it on and insisted everyone call him "Dr. Bacon." One of his nicknames is Bacon Mouse due to his serious love of bacon, so I suppose it's only natural that he would be Dr. Bacon. (Have I ever mentioned how hilarious Micah is?)
Our Big Boy Four Year Old. Love this kid.
So, there you have it. Micah's 4th birthday was a wild success and we are so excited to see what the next year brings us!
PS - I had to add this picture... because it is made of win...
We had decided not to have a first birthday party for Lia. She tends to get overwhelmed by a lot of people (or so I thought) and, truth be told, we have a lot of things we need to finish at our house before we're ready to have a big party. So, we were all set. No party. Just a small dinner with family. But then... I changed my mind. And I'm really happy that I did because Lia had the cutest birthday party ever!
We had her party at The Little Gym, and I need to say this, they were awesome! I really didn't have to do a thing. (I did bring my own decorations, even though they provide those - I couldn't help myself.) We've never had a birthday party outside of our home... and I'm thinking that we may never have one in our home again. Seriously, you should have seen our house after Micah's first birthday party. Ah, but it was worth it.
Anyway, on with the adorable! (That's why you're here, right?) Here is Lia in all of her 1st birthday glory...
This one is my favorite. I think.
Lia and Kevin check out the Sing*a*ma*jig (which we LOVE!)
The only picture of her in this adorable hat. She promptly removed it. Little Stinker.
Lia had such a great time at her party. She only broke out the Stink Eye once or twice the whole afternoon! (And that's big news, really.)
Walking with her dad.
Cutie concentrating.
Micah did not want to leave his sister on the parachute alone.
L surprised me here too. They put her in the middle of a parachute and all of the kids shook the sides. She LOVED it. I mean, LOVED it.
Clapping for herself. :)
Puckering up for a smooch.
Okay, maybe this is my favorite.
Waiting for cake!
She did not throw this one on the floor. :)
So there you have it. Fun times. We kept her party small, and it was the perfect amount of kids for Lia to have an amazing time. I know she won't remember it, but I know I'll never forget.
Lia's first birthday was this past weekend, and while her party hasn't happened yet, we definitely celebrated here at home. She had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty cute.
See that adorable hat? The very talented craftymommy made that for us! I love it! The "1" comes off and she included numbers up to 9 so we will be using this adorable birthday hat every year! Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Thank you Autumn!!
I love this girl.
Cutie Birthday Girl
My mom sent these adorable balloons for Lia.
I had to make two cakes. Someone *cough*MICAH*cough* was feeling a little jealous on Lia's first birthday.
And he had to have a candle as well. We are suckers for that face, so we gave in.
Lia wasn't so sure what to do with the cake.
She decided she would see what would happen if she picked it up...
And, yeah, that's what happens. I have to say, this was my favorite moment of her birthday. Throwing your cake on the floor? To me, that is just perfect.
M likes it too.
So, we had fun. I think Lia liked her lasagna better than the cake, but that's okay with me. And, remember when I mentioned that she is loud? Yeah - turn your volume down for this one.
