my world, my true
Photo Stories & Memories from Mommyhood
23 Months
Almost 2 years old. As I care for my newborn these days, it is nearly impossible to believe that it has been a whole 2 years since I was doing the same things with Knox. My perfect, strong, beautiful, smart, amazing favorite little boy impresses and inspires me every single day in some new way. His intelligence and continuous thirst for knowledge drives me to learn as much as I can about whatever he wants to know. His gentle, loving nature reminds me to think before I act and softens my sometimes hard heart. His passion for the things he loves gives me the courage to follow my own heart.
We are still living in dinosaur world here in our house. Everything is “roar” this or “roar” that. Playing “roars” is above all other things in his world, the most important thing to him. When someone comes to visit, if they will simply sit on the floor with him and pretend with him, he is in heaven. We build them houses, put them on the trains, cover them with blankets and put them to bed. We pretend to be them, we read about them, we watch them on TV, we draw them, paint them, mold them with play-doh…we all around love dinosaurs.
He can now identify them and has learned several of their names. He has cute little ways of saying them that make me smile every time. The apatosaurus (or any dinosaur with a long neck) is “Pat.” Stegosaurus’ are called “Stegas.” T-Rex is one that he can say very clearly. He also says “metridon” for the dimetrodon, “randadon” for the pteranodon (probably his favorite at the moment), and “Para” is parasaurolophus. There are several others that he can’t yet pronounce but can identify when I ask him to point to them. He loves to match the dinosaurs to his books and I even found a matching game that he loves.
Since baby arrived, we’ve been pretty much chained to the house (which I really hope changes soon - we are all going stir crazy!), so the TV has been on a lot more often than I would like. He really enjoys the PBS show “Dinosaur Train” (he calls it “Roar Train”) and I recently introduced him to “The Land Before Time” (he calls it “Big Roars”) series, which I remember loving as a child. I actually showed him both of these a couple of months ago & he seemed scared of them, so it wasn’t until a few weeks ago we attempted again & he seems to have overcome the fear and now is completely obsessed with both of them.
He can now verbalize most of the things he wants or needs but still has a little bit of a temper that comes out when he can’t seem to find the words to do so. He typically overcomes his frustration pretty easily after an extremely loud outburst and, if he’s really mad, he will bite his own hand. He has flung his hand at me & Daddy a few times, almost “hitting” us, but it’s very rare he takes out his anger physically on another person. It is hard to see him when he’s in that state, though - unable to make it better, and knowing that he just has to go through it and figure it out - but I know it’s just part of being an almost-2-year-old and I try not to give it too much attention when it happens.
His long-standing favorite things - books, music, water, treats - are still holding high in the ranks. He also adores “Juice Ice” which is exactly what he says it is, frozen juice in the Zoku popsicle maker. He LOVES his family and has made some special connections in our extended family the older he gets. It’s fun to hear him learn people’s names and ask for them to “come back,” when they try to leave. I like watching him grow relationships. My favorite growing relationship of his, however, has to be the one with his sister, whom he can’t get enough of.
It’s so hard to believe that I will be throwing a 2nd birthday party for him in just 1 month. When I asked him what kind of party he wanted, he surprised me initially by answering “Monkey,” but quickly corrected himself and said definitively, “Roar Party…Treats.” And, of course, if it’s a roar party he wants, a roar party he will get.
Breakfast & cartoons in bed on Saturday morning…kid life is the best. (Taken with instagram)
A Big Brother, A Little Sister & The Proudest Mommy
I worried and I worried and I worried about how Knox would react to his little sister. This worry plagued me throughout most of my pregnancy, especially towards the end. I imagined him screaming in protest, his whole world flipped upside-down. I assumed I would have no time for him, that our bond would be strained, that the wonderful friendship we had grown over the past 2 years would be so different, that he would no longer be a Mommy’s boy…
Nothing could be further from the truth. From the moment he laid eyes on her, Knox has been nothing but positive, happy, sweet, gentle and completely loving towards Lately. He wants her where he is at all times. There were some scary moments in the first few days home where his bounding toddler body came a little too close for comfort to her delicate newborn head, and, of course, he would squeeze a bit too hard or get a little too close with a very hard, heavy plastic dinosaur…but, for the most part, he has been better than I could have ever imagined. I kick myself for doubting him - how could I forget what an amazing little man I have on my hands? How could I not know he would love her endlessly and be her protector? He has made me so proud.
The things he says to her are so cute. My favorite so far is “Cool dress, baby!” But he’s also said “I love baby” (he’s never said “I love Mommy or Daddy!”), which pretty much had me in a puddle on the floor.
He loves to try to play dinosaurs with her, hold her on his lap, lay with her & pretend he’s sleeping, pat her back to help burp her and give her LOTS of kisses right on the lips. He even tried to get me to let her sleep in his bed with him the first night she was home!
It’s hard to believe how much my smart, perfect and oh so full of love little man has taught me. This is just another one of those times where he’s led the way, knowing all along exactly what to do while I slip and stumble behind him trying to catch up.
Root of the Root
This is my husband’s version of Lately’s story here…keep in mind he had not read mine when he wrote this. (he’s also a much better writer than I am & made me extremely proud & jealous when I read this -not to mention the fact that I cried the whole way through!)
What’s in a Name?
Several people have asked how the name “Lately” came to be a name, rather than just a word. Believe it or not, there’s a story behind it. A cheesy, silly, sweet little story that goes something like this…
When Tarrell and I first got together (in those early days of falling in love that became littered with long, long talks, overnight phone calls, childish grins and giggles, endlessly staring headlong into our bright future as one), we were savoring one of our longest talks, hanging on each other’s every word and trying to learn every detail we could possibly learn about each other.
He looked at me with his adorable puffy lips and dimpled smile and said he wanted to know more, but he couldn’t think of another question to ask. He pondered it for a moment then asked, shrugging his shoulders, “What’s your favorite letter?”
I wasn’t quite sure if I had a favorite letter, but after carefully considering my answer, I answered definitively, “L.” I’d always loved the sound it made, it seemed to me like the prettiest letter in the alphabet.
He smiled and followed up quickly with his second question, “What’s your favorite number?” I had the same reaction I’d had to the first question, but again contemplated and decided it was the number 8. (It’s a nice, aesthetically pleasing, symmetrical even number, isn’t it though?).
Without thinking at all, he looked in my eyes and said casually, “If you ever have a daughter, you should name her Lately.” My heart melted, the future I had always hoped for seemed so tangible to me for the first time in my life. I think I knew in that moment that he would be the the love of my life and the father of my children.
The name stuck with us over the years. As we grew closer and realized we wanted to spend our lives together, we would refer to Lately often. She became a constant in our relationship. We would light-heartedly plan our future together and she was always a part of it, she was the symbol of our love and commitment to each other day after day.
Being a mother has been my greatest joy thus far in life, as I knew it would be from a very young age. Meeting my baby boy and watching him grow is my dream come true everyday and having my baby girl is not just icing on the cake, but it truly makes me feel whole in a brand new way. We struggled for two long years to conceive Knox, so when I discovered I had effortlessly become pregnant with Lately I was in disbelief of how blessed we were. And when the ultra-sound technician announced we were having a girl, I squealed with excitement and her name rung through my ears as the tears formed in my eyes.
Since it is so unique, I’m sure people will have their opinions about her name throughout the years, but hopefully she will be able to love it and proudly wear it as the symbol of love that it has become to us over the years.
Lately’s Birth Story
Lately Violet
May 6, 2012 2:24 a.m.
7lb 14oz, 20 3/4”
On May 5th around 3:30 a.m., I awoke to some stronger pains than those I had been having off and on all week long. After days of wishing they would progress and push me into labor, I was filled with hope and anticipation as I quietly began timing them while lying in bed next to Tarrell, who was still sleeping soundly. I savored each one, staying in the same position for a while, afraid they would weaken or disappear if I moved at all. With each pain, I felt closer to her, I loved that this was one more thing that only we would share, only we could feel this and experience it all together. Though it would be the end of our time as one, it was the beginning of many more amazing, incredible events that we would face together.
"The best way to make children good is to make them happy."
~ Oscar Wilde (via naturalmomma)
(via not-the-mom)
thrivinglife-thrivingmama asked: Congrats on your newest addition! We're having our second in August! =)
Congrats to you, too! I have to say that having 2 really is double the fun :) happy mothers day!
About Me
"i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you"
~e.e. cummings
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