one last first birthday post.

The 'firsts' are dwindling down...
and now we have come to the season of 'lasts.'

That may sound sad, and in some ways it is. I cry a bit inside (and sometimes outside) when I realize I won't get to see another of our babies crawl the first time, or take their first steps, or make that funny stink-face when they eat their first bite of mushy baby food.

These milestones that made my heart burn with mama pride and awe at the growth of our babes and thankfulness that I got to see them all happen...well, they will become fuzzy and fade with each new season of parenthood.  So I write these blog posts, and set photographs to music that makes my cheesy mama heart swell, as a way to remember as much as I can.

We survived our 'last first year' of parenthood.  The night wakings and the teeth popping through at inopportune times (like when you move to a new country.) The overwhelm of having an infant and two other small, spirited, loud children.  'Survival mode' took on a whole new meaning with the addition of a third babe.

With my first baby I was always stressed I was doing something wrong, and constantly had my nose in a parenting book during nap times.  I was completely clueless, and when I look back on it I can't even believe how easy Cormac was in reality.  (I mean, there was just one of him!)

With Finola I was so much calmer -- in my sweet spot of parenting.  I put into practice all I had just learned with Cormac, and though not without its challenges, life was pretty grand.

Then Whit came along and I morphed quickly into "hot mess mama" - surviving on coffee and easy dinners, hustling to keep up with three babes, plus my own interests, and the house, and basically never getting anything done.  It's a season, though, and albeit a super hard one I am just trying to breathe and enjoy and meet each unique kiddo where they are...and give myself grace.

Whit's first birthday was unlike the other two we've celebrated -- just a tiny celebration at our home with our little fam plus the happy addition of Mimi visiting from the US.  We ate cupcakes I definitely didn't bake, and blew bubbles, and Whit loved all the balloons strewn everywhere.  It was simple and just perfect for this stage of our lives.

A bit about Whit...

My clingiest baby. A definite mama's boy. Doused in oils since day one.  He's had to go with the flow this year, enduring a lot of travel, changes, and of course the noise and lack of personal space from his raucous older sibs.  He is also my skinniest babe, with barely any rolls...and no hair! (I was also a very bald babe, so I think there is hope!)  As far as teething, he started popping teeth the quickest...and somehow he has been blessed with his two-year-old molars already. I breastfed him the longest...partly because I knew it was my last chance to do it. I also probably let him get away with the most...I mean, he is, truly, the baby of the fam. Our last.

Here are some of my favorite photographs from your first year of life, sweet Whitty P...

finola is three!

Dearest Fin,

Your third year has been fun, busy, and loud...kinda like you!  

You are such a ray of sunshine in our lives -- always quick with a smile, hug, or a "joke," you definitely prefer to remedy any uncomfortable situation with humor.  You are known to laugh loudly for no apparent reason during awkward moments.  If there is a moment of silence you might insert a belch or a fart to lighten the mood.   

You like to tease and irritate your brother.  Lordy. This year the two of you learned how to bicker and compete - constantly.  I have been a referee for the past year and I don't see the end of it any time soon.  

You are my little helper in the kitchen!  You love to volunteer to help me prepare meals, or get the snacks out.  You kinda love food in general.  While I sometimes get initial complaints about eating your vegetables at dinner, you always end up chowing them down at the prospect of dessert.  I remember craving sweets to the extreme when you were in my belly, and your sweet tooth is strong! Favorites are powdered sugar donuts and vanilla ice cream with sprinkles!  No chocolate, though. 

Favorite non-sugary food?  Easily mac n cheese.  Pretty sure you request this for every meal, even breakfast sometimes.  I limit it to once a week but you would prefer more often.  Hot dogs, cottage cheese and pickles are other frequent requests.

While you have recently developed a weird bug phobia (okay, not so weird, I hate them, too) you are still my nature girl.  I think you would rather be outside in the dirt and puddles than playing with toys any day.  In fact, I had a hard time thinking of presents to get you for your birthday!  You tend to just want to play with all Cormac's "boy stuff."  Like, you want anything he might be playing with at any given moment.  Sigh. 

You love singing and dancing and music in general!  You have been known to belt out John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in McDonalds, at Barnes and Noble, or anywhere else where an a random audience might listen. 

Finola, we love you light and fun personality!  You never take anything too seriously, which is sometimes a bit frustrating, but probably a good thing in general.  You are also competitive, assertive, and sometimes bossy and demanding.  You have your share of typical toddler tantrums.  I've learned with you that when you throw a fit, I need to just give you a moment, wait patiently in silence with an understanding look on my face, and then you clearly see your outburst was out of line and then you'll let me hug you.  You say you're sorry without being prompted.  You are very self-aware.

Other general things of note: you are doing AWESOME with potty training, though still need to wear a pull up at night, and there will be the occasional accident. You do things "yourself" so that makes me happy, even if I have to clean up a few more messes in the bathroom.  (Our concepts of "enough TP" are not quite the same.)  However, we still need to work on appropriate places to use the potty...like maybe not in one of the Lowe's display toilets.  

And now, because your mama is obsessed with photos and particularly photos set to music...here is your bday slideshow.  The first song is one of our favorites -- and one that really fits our life right now.   

Finola, you are one of the "good things" in this life we've been blessed with that reminds me how present God is, and what is truly important every day...

Happy, happy birthday Finola!!!!

lucky number seven

Seven years married.
To this smart, logical, non-judgmental, fair, and handsome man - complete with dimples and superhero chin.

When I was a little girl I sit on a fence on our farm, staring up at the stars, praying for a romance someday -- a romance for the ages.  My love would be handsome, and smart, and successful, and he'd put up with all my crazy, and we would do all kinds of exciting things.  And on and on.  It would be magical.

Yes, perhaps I watched too many rom-coms and Rogers+Hammerstein musicals as a child.

Be that as it may, in my mind, my prayer was answered.

There were quite a few hiccups on the way to marriage -- but there are in the movies, too, right?  Oh, and the actual marriage has had plenty of fights and moments of drama and mistakes made.  I mean, sweet pictures and Disney movies aside -- let's just be real.  Marriage is complicated and raw and hard.

But I think that is part of what makes it so phenomenally good.

To read our "love story" click here (Start at #5 Meeting Future Hubby!)

To see a glimpse of the past thirteen years (eek!) watch this slideshow -- because I am nerdy and love seeing images set to good music...

I couldn't feel more lucky- and blessed - to have had seven years with this man.  Year seven has us in the middle of maybe one of the more challenging parts of parenting/marriage - the tiny baby/toddler stage.  Getting sleep, finding time and energy for romance, and really getting anything done besides him going to work and me raising the kiddos full-time.

So happy to be going through it all with such a great man, who loves me and appreciates me like none other.  Who always makes me feel like I am the most beautiful person in the world, inside and out.
And keeps it light...when I am often so serious...

I love you, babe.  

Happy seven years.

finola - one year!

Dear Fin,

I'm a little late in posting this, but I'm sure you don't mind.

Your first birthday came and went as quickly as the entire first year.

What a lovely year!

Eating:

Awesome.  You love your food.  You get immediate 'food envy' if you are not offered what others are eating.  You will pretty much eat anything, and a lot of it.  Still prefer the bottle over a sippy cup, and still prefer your milk to be warmed up.  However, we ditched the formula (yay!) and now you are solely drinking cow's milk (or water.)

Sleeping:

Consistently through the night - barring instances when you are teething, when you may wake up several times for comfort.  Still taking a morning and an afternoon nap, with no real end in sight as far as the first nap goes.  

Sibling Relations:

Lovely.  I adore watching you and your brother together.  Sometimes you scuffle (aka he gets annoyed at you for being up in his business)) but the love there is so cool to watch.  You both will randomly hug and kiss each other, and it is the sweetest!  You want to be wherever he is and playing with whatever he is playing with.

Milestones/Developments:

• Started standing on your own, without support from anything!  It is so cute how you laugh proudly nearly every time you do it, which is all the time.
• No independent steps yet.
• Started attempting to use eating utensils.
• Getting better with the sippy cup.
• Will both wave and point at things.
• Can now finally climb down the steps and off of whatever you have climbed up onto.
• Still lots of babbling but no new words.  You go off on long baby tangents where you look like I should really know what you are talking about.  I just smile and nod and say, "Really???" a lot.

Health/Measurements:

• weighs 22 lbs...was in 85th percentile for weight and 25th for height.  short and chunky at his point, and I love it.  
• has six teeth, two on bottom, four on top.
• apparently the Ohio River Valley air is bad for babies, also...she has constant congestion and drippy nose, it seems.

Month's Memories:

• The first birthday party!!!!
• Tons of trips to the park due to the beautiful warm weather.  You love climbing on the playground equipment and going down slides, by yourself or with mama or brother.
• First time in the pool and going to splash parks.  It is clear you are my water baby.  You had no problem (despite initial water coldness on opening day at the pool) hanging out with mama in the pool, and you LOVE splash parks/fountains.  You even climbed right in by yourself at the one by your Mimi's house.

Instead of the usual onslaught of pictures from the past month, I decided to do a slideshow of the year instead...

So there it was -  the final 'monthly baby update.'  I want to cry thinking that this was probably my last 'first year' with an infant.  But in so many ways I am just simply grateful and excited to watch my two little ones grow into 'big kids.'