It’s Days Like This…

It’s days like this

that make my heart sing.

It’s smiles like this

that make my heart melt.

It’s a man like this

that makes my heart race.

It’s moments like this

that make my heart overflow with love and joy.

There really is no better time than now to be alive!

To My Darling Burke: Seven Months

I have known you now for more than half of one year. You are now closer to one than zero. And I wonder where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday that I held you in my arms for the first time, wondering what we should name you. And yet, it'll be just the blink of an eye and we'll be singing "Happy Birthday" to our favorite little man as he smashes his cake and digs in with gusto. But I won't get ahead of myself--at least not at the moment. So here we are just two weeks past 7 months and you are still the funniest, most full-of-life little boy I know.

You have started to say "Dada" and when you get started, you don't stop. You babble constantly...I wonder if we'll ever have quiet once you really start to talk! I love to hear you talk as you play contentedly with your toys or traverse every corner and inch of your crib. You might just be an acrobat when you grow up. Or the guy that can fit into tiny spaces. You'll definitely be loving and kind and compassionate. Want to know how I know? God told me. And, you love to snuggle and "hug" Mama & Daddy. You are a little lover, that's for sure!

You also started "giving kisses" this month. What that means for you is to approach all things with an open mouth and then slober all over the recipient. That includes our mouths and even the dog. We think it's kind of gross to let you open mouth kiss the dog, so we try to stop you when possible. But you love your doggie and he lets you do whatever you want to him.

You got a few more teeth this month as well. You're not getting a break on teeth--but you do look so cute and silly with all of those little white teeth scattered throughout your mouth! When you smile and your teeth show--ah! My heart melts. And you love to smile and laugh. At nothing, at something, at everything. You're pretty easy to please!

You're so close to crawling, you can all but taste it. We see the frustration in your face, but we delight in watching your wheels spin as you figure out how to make your body work for you. Discovering the world is so cool! I feel so lucky to get to watch you do it. You have also started to pull yourself up on things, so we must now keep an even closer eye on you, my dear. (You nearly toppled headfirst into our wooden floor when you pulled yourself up on the laundry basket).

Thank you for the joy that you bring into our lives! I thank God for you countless times every day. There is just no little boy as sweet and as cute as you, Burke.

Love,
Mama

My Christmas Miracle

I remember last Christmas like it was just yesterday. Wasn't it just yesterday? My word! Where did this year go? Last Christmas, I was a happy pregnant lady and one of the very best presents last year was feeling my little darling move for the very first time!

 

I remember thinking I'm so lucky! because Christmas is my favorite holiday, my favorite time of year and I was going to get Christmas in June too! Usually, I mourn the close of Christmas Day, because the 12-month wait til next year just seems impossible...an unimaginable and needlessly suspenseful span of time. But, last year, I wound down from Christmas Day with joy as I looked forward to a new sort of Christmas Day just 6 months away...the day that I would get to meet my firstborn. 

With a blink of an eye, it was here. Sure, there were some painfully slow days and weeks in between--those days I thought this baby will stay inside of me forever! But all in all, it was like the blink of an eye. June 3, 2011--my Christmas in June. No one could prepare me for the insurmountable joy and love that I would both experience and give away that day...which is what Christmas is all about, isn't it?

 

And no one could prepare me for what must be called the miracle of parenthood. That each and every day for the rest of my life, I would wake up and experience Christmas morning all over again, each one better than the last. Each day, I would wake up and realize that somehow, I love my child even more today than I did yesterday. How is it possible? And I would go to bed each night--not mourning the close of Christmas Day--but joyfully pondering and anxiously anticipating the increased love and joy I would find in the morning when I awoke to the sound of nonsensical babble, raspberries, coos and giggles. And so, I find that I am most blessed, as Christmas for me is an every day occurrence in which I get to love deeper, laugh harder and give generously from all that I am and all that I have. This is my Christmas miracle.

Adventures with Santa: Burke's First Christmas

We are so excited to celebrate Christmas this year! It's not about the gifts. Burke won't be able to appreciate any of it, really. But to celebrate all of his "firsts" is just so exciting for us. To watch him take it all in and attempt to process it in that adorable tiny head--I wonder what he thinks. How exactly does he process it?

My mother-in-law wanted a picture with all of the grandkids on Santa's lap this year. So a few weeks ago, we all met at the mall and managed to catch a very patient Santa just before he was to go on break.

As you can see, Burke's first visit with Santa went fabulously! No beard pulling, ripping faces off, crying, vomiting or any other potential mishap commonly associated with wee ones. We even got a smile. Burke's second visit with Santa, however, went a little more like I predicted--beard pulling, beard eating, squirmy-ness! He knows a fake beard when he sees one!

The Intervention

Despite the beard pulling and necessary intervention, we were rewarded with the smile we know and love. Cozy as can be on Santa's lap...my sweet boy. He brings us so much joy! He is absolutely the best gift of all.