Just in case you were losing sleep at night

Quick personal update; My birthday was Friday. Mark stayed home on Friday and the rest of the weekend, and I finally got the rest my body had been begging for. A nap, a massage, a much needed date with my hubby, a girl’s night, more resting and resting and resting did the trick. By Monday I was feeling remarkably better. It is so rare for moms to get to take a sick day. We usually have to work our little bums off no matter our physical condition. I was incredibly grateful to Mark for a weekend of rest, and recovered more in two days than I had in six weeks.

My sister was right, and now that I am feeling physically better all other worries seem much more manageable. Besides, who can stay too stressed when you have a three-year-old sweetheart constantly shoving cough drops in your mouth and ice packs on your ribs, and dropping spontaneously to his knees 20 times a day and praying for “mommy to feel all better”, and my favorite, “Please, bless Mommy’s rib to GO AWAY!”?

Who can stay too stressed when you have a chubby 17 month old, red headed toddler running around the house chanting, “Hakuna Matata” with a big grin on his face?

This little man is what I really wanted to write about today. So let me tell you a little about our man Lukey.

Lukey has a real zest for life. There is not a food he does not immediately shove in his mouth to taste, a song he does not dance to, an obstacle he does not climb, or a body of water he does not attempt to jump in. You can see the look of excitement and determination in his eyes when he sees something new that he just has to try. He is adventurous and fearless. Although he is coordinated and balanced for his age, his need for constant exploration and challenge lead to never-ending goose eggs on his poor little head. In actuality his head is not that little. It is in the 99th percentile, which is probably why it always takes the first hit.

He is such a joy and we sit around watching him and laughing at him constantly. I love his little thrill-seeking genes, partly because they remind me so much of myself.

Whenever we go hiking and I try climbing some rock wall, Mark and Russell both yell “Mommy, down!” but now I know I will have a little buddy to climb with.

Lukey loves balls and cars and bikes. He loves his teddy. He loves food. He loves climbing.  He is completely in love with his Daddy, and chooses Dad over Mom 9 times to 1.

He says about 20 words, and is starting to put together simple sentences, “My ba” (my ball) “I wan wa wa” (I want water). My favorite word is “Bah-BOOOOL” which is ‘bottle’, and is so completely adorable.

Putting him to sleep for nap and bed is one of my favorite times of day. He asks for his “Bah-BOOOOL”, when he sees it in your hand he runs around the house to find his teddy, picks him up and sprints to his room. He climbs up on the bed, lies on his back and waits for his bottle –I know, he is almost 18 months and we really need to give up that thing. He polishes it off, folds his arms and bows his head for a prayer. I put him in his crib and he lays on his back, waves “bye bye” at me exuberantly, with a huge smile on his face.

It is interesting to see little personality traits and physical traits of Mark and I in our boys, but most of what I see are two unique individuals. They are just themselves. They have their own beautiful, crazy, determined personalities and I hope we are able to teach them and guide them through life in the way that is right for them. Good luck to us all in this parenting business!

 

 What would I do without these three?

The family doctor