Happy Mother's Day

Rice cereal scenes from last night...or as Ethan calls it, "Mush"...like in "Goodnight Moon"!

When he keeps his hands out of his mouth, and when he stops laughing and grinning, Owen loves that mush!! He must think eating solids is really funny because he can not stop laughing during cereal time!!

Dylan complies with picture-taking so Mommy will put down the camera and GIVE him that grub! D pounces on the spoon and opens his mouth wide for each bite. I can't wait to see his reaction to food with flavor! Not to far away!!

*****

"Hil/Mommy, Thank you for being our mommy. You're a pretty girl, and you're skinny. We will always give you kisses. 'illegible scrawlings' (Ethan) & Andy"

My card, from Ethan and Andy, just moments ago, because I asked for one. Ethan wanted to give me his Mother's Day gift on Friday, so he hampered Andy's "plan". I got a fabulous suit (with skirt instead of pants...hurray!) and a lovely purple shirt to wear underneath! I have zero suits, so this was a very thoughtful gift. I'm assuming I might have to travel for work a few times this year so this will be great to have. Thanks, guys!!

I had worked most of the day (and Friday night and last night!), so I can't say that it felt like "my" day, but I got to spend some lovely time with each of my boys. Ethan snuggled up with me in bed this morning...Ethan, about 10 tractors, and I snuggled it up under our down comforter (still using it in May, with the windows open!). Owen and I took a super quick cat-nap on the couch while Andy and Ethan went to the park (and Dylan cat-napped in the swing). Dylan and I rocked and watched the Twins game. I gave the babies baths. I fed Owen rice cereal. I made faces at Dylan while we played tummy-time. D & O are SO smiley...belly laughs...I can't stop laughing with them. I did laundry, I washed dishes, I cleaned a toilet (Mary was sick last week...the house is SO dirty!!). Andy had a certain "man surgery" on Friday so he wasn't to full operating capacity this weekend, but he was much more helpful than I expected him to be. He's really awesome. He took Ethie to the park this morning and after naptime he took him outside so he could run around naked. I don't think I can post those pictures, but they are pretty funny. The point of having him being naked outside is two-fold. He's got a rash issue...outside the diaper. Lamisil and Desitin don't seem to be doing the trick...we're hoping the Sun can. Also, we are inching our way into potty-training. Ethan's had the potty in our bathroom for a long time and sat on it a few times. Today, he pooped and then told us he wanted to sit on the potty. So I took him up there and he sat on the potty for awhile. The deed had already been done in the diaper, but I figure this is a starting point. Andy and I have both read that being naked makes them more aware of feeling they need to go potty. It could be messy, and it's probably better to start on a weekend when Andy is more mobile...but we feel we should be moving in that direction sometime soon!!

I can't help but think about what a difference a year makes. On Mother's Day morning 2008, I took a pregnancy test. We had just been out the night before, at the Twin v Red Sox game, with Andy's siblings and significant others. I drank a lot of beer. On Sunday, I was 2 days late. We'd been trying again, so I decided to make sure before I drank any momosas at brunch. Before I even pulled up my pants, the EPT digital test flashed "pregnant" (no wonder, little did I know...it was twins!!...even at 4 weeks, my hcG levels must have been off the charts!)...I called Andy upstairs...he took a look at the test and said "Babyyyyy" to me. We hugged and then decided not to tell anyone for awhile. We were still fresh off the miscarriage in Februrary and a little hesitant to be celebratory. We celebrated Mother's Day with Andy's family. At that time, Ethan was the only grandchild and I had to share him. I'm still willing to share, but now there's 4 grand-kids!!!

It makes me wonder where we'll be next Mother's Day. Dylan and Owen will no doubt be mobile, and capably so I assume, at almost 1 1/2 yrs old. Ethan will be over 3 1/2!! One year doesn't sound like so long, but it's amazing how much your life can change within those 365 (or 366!) days. The changes seem to keep getting better and better for our family! I could NOT be a prouder Mom to Ethan, Owen and Dylan. They light up my life and I am thrilled to be their Mommy.