A reflection on Dylans 1st year, My boys, My husband, and Life as a mother...

DYLAN.....

I can't believe that my little boy has turned one!!! I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. Before the kids were born I looked at Christmas and my birthday as yearly landmarks. Now the children's birthdays are the yearly landmarks. Their birthdays are days that my life changed forever. They are days that I will always remember what I was doing at each moment of time during that day. They are days that mean so much more to me than any other day of the year. I start to look back and compare how much the kids have changed and how much I have changed over the last year.

Dylan has truly made our family complete. From the day he was born he has been even-tempered, happy, loves life and people, a great eater, very affectionate, and a ball full of energy. Dylan had his first Doctors appointment on 3/9/11, the day after his birthday. Dylan weighed in at 22 pounds 7 ounces (50 percentile) and his length is 2ft 7inches (80 percentile). Dylan is able to walk the length of a room pushing a toy or holding onto your hands. He pulls up to stand on everything. He is very busy and always wants to be down on the ground exploring everything. He loves to climb on your lap and jump while you hold his hands. Dylan has a very healthy appetite. I have yet to find a food he doesn't like. We just switched Dylan to whole milk from formula without any difficulty. Dylan is starting to use a spoon during meals and drinks from a sippy cup. He still has an evening bottle, which I am not in any hurry to get rid, of since both of my kids have never used a pacifier. Dylan has 4 teeth that are fully in and 2 just starting to poke through the gums. Dylan is crawling everywhere at an extremely fast speed. He keeps me on my toes. He loves to climb up the steps but hasn't mastered coming down the steps yet. We have baby gates set-up all over the house to protect his safety.

Since Dylan is the second child I have made a very conscious effort to make sure he gets just as much attention that Garrett did when he was this age. I also have been deligent on teaching Garrett how to share so Dylan doesn't get toys taken away from him. Some days I feel like a referee, but I feel it is important they learn from an early age. I want both kids to grow up to be strong, independent, caring, affectionate, well-mannered boys.

GARRETT.....

 

Garrett has been such a wonderful big brother. Garrett is very loving and protective over his little brother. He is always giving Dylan hugs and kisses. Garrett still calls Dylan " my baby" and he hasn't even attempted to say Dylan. I think it is cute that he thinks Dylan is his. Even though Garrett is only 2 1/2 he is such a big helper in taking care of Dylan. It is so cute to watch Garrett wash Dylan in the bath or help give him a bottle before bed.  Garrett has endless energy and is showing very strong signs of being a great athlete!!  He is always wanting to play baseball, soccer, football, or just run and jump around!  He is a very social, strong willed, opinionated and he LOVES to play with other kids.  He is very affectionate and loves to cuddle!!!  His favorite things right now are his Black and Decker tool bench set, stacking blocks, cars and books!!    

MY BOYS....

I feel like the luckiest mother in the world!!  I love my boys so much and could not imaging life without them!!  They have taught me so much about life and myself.  They have taught me about what is truly important.  I feel like my life is full of LOVE....

MY HUSBAND...

Chad and I have known each other for the last 16 years!!!  We been together for the last 12 years and have been married the last 7 years!!!   Chad truly completes me!!  We have tackled renting and apartment, buying a house, getting a dog, renovating our entire home, and having children together. We have definitely changed as individuals over the last decade but our love for each other has always been a constant.  We respect each other and truly value our differences.  I can't wait to grow old with him!!! 

MY LIFE AS A MOTHER.......

 

Having 2 children under the age of 3, working 30 hours a week, cleaning, cooking, and doing all the household daily jobs has been the hardest thing I have even done. Being a mom alone is a 24/7 job but then when you add everything else on top it makes life VERY busy!!  There are not enough hours in the day!!