The party was perfect! Aydin was in a great mood, loved being sang to, and devoured his cake! He was a real ham all afternoon. He missed his last nap because of all the excitement, so he was pooped after everyone went home. It was not hard getting him to bed that night...
Look for a scrapblog later in the week of the event!
Dearest Aydin,
Today you turn one. My last baby is officially a "toddler". Where has the year gone? In one sense, I am thrilled that you are growing up... becoming more self sufficient. In another sense, you are just so darned cute that I want you to stay little forever. Pretty soon, you'll walk off all of your lovable baby rolls. You won't want me to hold your bottle for you and rock you to sleep. You won't walk towards me (very wobbly) so enthusiastically with the purest smile and hug me so hard. Yep, soon you'll be a big boy, like your brother. That's o.k., though. I have a feeling you are going to grow up to be something special... you are going to make a difference with your life. If your personality now is in any way an indicator of what's in store for you, I am going to be the proudest mom in the world. I already am.
Everyday I struggle to keep a record of you and your brother as you are now. It is so important to me. I don't want to forget anything about your first year of life.
I don't want to forget how...
...for the longest time you would sing yourself to sleep.
...you say "Weeeee!" when sliding or swinging.
...you idolize your brother.
...soft your hair is.
...you only say "Mama" when you are whining and crying looking to me for relief.
...we call you "sticky fingers" because you grab everything within reach.
...curious you are.
...squirmy you are. I can't hold you for more than a second before you start wiggling to get away.
...you LOVE to splash around in toilet water.
...you put EVERYTHING into your mouth.
...your belly hangs over your shorts.
...your deep, husky voice.
...cute you are when you wave and say "Bye"
You are so content most of the time with whatever we throw at you. You travel well, you shop well, you play on your own well... you just go with the flow. I love that about you. I think that is a trait that comes from being second born. You are also so very sensitive. You get your feelings hurt easy. But, you are physically tough. You owe that to your big brother. You are active. Boy, are you active! Between you and your brother, I am shocked I don't weigh 30 pounds less than I do. You aren't really in to too much cuddling. But, that's o.k. because when you give love, it is even that much more special. Besides, as I am sure you have learned, whether you like it or not, Mama likes to give lots of cuddles. Deal with it.
I could go on and on. The days have just flown by and all I can do is hope that I have taken enough videos and pictures and written enough about you that I can always hold on to the memory of you as a baby.
I wish you all the joy in the world. More than anything, I want for you to be happy.
I also wish that you and your brother will grow up to be the best of friends. I am so happy that you have each other. You guys are going to need each other throughout life. There's a support that you can offer to one another that your dad and I can't.
If I could give you one piece of advice, it is to LOVE with all that you are. This life is short. Love hard. Don't let a day go by where you wonder if your family and friends know how you feel about them. Always show it.
I feel like this letter is so scattered, but my head is working faster than my hands can type.
Aydin, you are such a joy in my life. You complete me. You complete this family. I love you with all that I am. I look forward to watching you grow into a young man. I am going to do everything within my power to make sure that all the world is yours. I love you baby boy.
All my love,
Mama
WTF?
It's a digital frame heart necklace. The heart is huge - like 3 inches all the way around. He bought it on Amazon. It only had 2 reviewers... one said "Great gift for a child" and the other commented on how it looked "kid-like". And my better half still bought it.
What am I... 13?
Why didn't he just get me a mood ring?
Can you imagine me wearing this out in public?
That's really all I can say. Needless to say, it's being shipped back.
(He's not happy I am posting this, but I thought it was hilarious... all I could do was laugh when I saw it.)
I love you Pookie! It's the thought that counts anyway...
Every night after tucking Carsten into bed, right before closing his door, we blow each other kisses. Last night he started making farting noises instead. I started to close the door and dismiss it when he started laughing. I asked him what he was doing. He told me that he was blowing me "Poo-poo butt kisses". Nice. So, now we blow "poo-poo butt kisses" instead of plain old kisses. Reason #347 why I am so glad to have boys.
Aydin eating a meal in Lake Charles. I love the middle picture... It's like he's saying, "What?!"
This one's for you, Anne...
We hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!
As I've mentioned, I really love Aydin's hair. I thought this picture really highlighted just how beautiful it is...
Here's part 1 of 4 from last week. We went to Lake Charles to visit my in-laws over Mother's Day weekend. All of the scrapblogs chronicle our time there.
This is a community splash pad that we took the kids to. We actually went twice. The second trip out, I decided to let Aydin play. It was his first time at a splash pad. To say he loved it would be an understatement. He had a blast. He was like Sweet Pea on crack! He feverishly crawled from water structure to water structure. He loved the water splashing in his face. When I first put him down, he cried out for a brief second, but quickly came to love it!
This evening we were out on the deck relaxing before dinner. Aydin was in the swing hanging from the pergola and Carsten was twisting him up in it and letting him spin around to unwind. Aydin loves it! Anyway, in the midst of this action, I grabbed Carsten and started loving on him. I gave him a big hug and kiss and told him that I love him. He said that he loved me too, but was trying to get away. What he said next as he was trying to wiggle away just about killed me...
"Aydin is getting FRUSTRATED. He wants to spin!"
Frustrated. Huh. What's next? Accumulated? Who knows...
BTW... he said he learned 'frustrated' from watching Pinky Dinky Doo. And who says T.V. isn't educational?
So, I am going to try and do one scrapblog every week with my favorite pictures from the last week. I figure this will be a good way of chronicling events, as well as encourage me to take more photos.
So without further ado...
It's 9:50 on Sunday morning and Aydin is still sleeping... I guess he will be skipping his first nap!
Today being a mom was the last thing I felt like doing. I just kept thinking... What would I give to get away from all of this? Pathetic pitty party, I know.
At lunch today, Aydin burped and up with his burp came his lunch. Projectile throw up everywhere... again... the second time in less than 24 hours. As I have mentioned he has an awful gag reflex. As I surveyed the damage, my spirits fell. I just sat there staring at all the goo. I am so tired of cleaning up Aydin's throw up. The task of cleaning it up just seemed so overwhelming. It was the last thing I felt like doing. As I sat there, with this crushed look on my face, Pookie came over and just at the right minute, said the right thing. Without me even saying a word, he knew what I was thinking. He said, "Honey, you are doing a very important job. Don't forget that." I instantly felt better. I know that, but I sometimes loose sight of it in all the poop, vomit, and slobber. It's really nice to know that he thinks so as well.
I tried to remember this throughout all the yuckiness of my day...
Cleaning Carsten's pee off himself and the carpet...
Wiping Carsten's bottom after going to the bathroom...
Scraping up play-doh from the floor and table...
Changing Aydin's dirty diaper...
Picking up the toys for the third time today...
Sweeping the dirt off the living room floor after Aydin grabbed a few handfuls out of the plant...
Loading dirty dishes in the dishwasher for the second time today...
Wiping down Aydin's dirty black hands, feet, and knees from crawling around outside...
And it's only 4:30...
Yesterday Aydin took his first step (without holding on to the furniture). It was the cutest thing ever! I was on the computer downstairs in the living room, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye, him standing on his own (he has been doing this for a few weeks). He had the biggest grin on his face like he was so excited about what he was about to do. He looked down at his feet and looked back up at me. You could see the wheels turning in his head... he was thinking, "Huh, let me try this walking thing without holding on instead of crawling. What a great idea!" Then, he took his first step... and fell. He did it a couple of more times throughout the day... each time very proud of himself until his bottom hit the ground!
This morning I took Carsten and Aydin to Miller Outdoor Theater for a children's performance. It was called "Danceology 101" put on by the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. I didn't have high hopes for the outing since both of my boys are VERY active and don't like structured activities where they can't roam and play! We had a really nice time, though. First we fed the pigeons at the reflection pool and then we all headed over to the theater. Carsten shocked me and actually stayed in his seat for the majority of the performance. I think he really liked it. Aydin had a bottle, snacked on Cheerios, and played well with another baby his age. After the performance, we headed over to the park and had a picnic lunch. The kids all played for a while before we packed up to head home.... not before Carsten could roll down the hill, though! Aydin was so pooped. He completely missed his morning nap and didn't go down until we got home at 2!
Carsten rolling down the hill
at the reflection pond
Hanging with his buds (I am shocked one of them didn't fall in...)
Carsten and Liam
How cute is that?!
Carsten and Liam actually watching the performance!
