Fond Memories
This morning was the first morning in a while that I woke up in my parent’s house. They did a wonderful job preparing for us. My folks had a brand new bed ready in the guest room, the port-a-crib set up, a television/dvd player ready for our baby movies, a rocking recliner (like I have at home) ready for trying to get the munchkin down and a lullaby cd in the cd player. Despite all efforts, my teething dude and I did not get much sleep. Just part of growing up, I suppose. We had a nice breakfast with my mom and made it to church in time for the sermon. I got to meet the new pastor at the church I grew up in, and visited with many familiar faces and a few new. We also got to meet two tiny little guys and after holding one, I stand firm my guy is a tank. When we got home, little dude was so tired he didn’t even wake up and napped on my chest on the couch for a bit. We had visits from a friend and her little boy (absolutely adorable!) and my grandmother (this is her first great-grandchild), as well as another visit from my aunt and two of her “clan.” My little guy enjoyed his time immensely.
The highlights of my day were many! For one thing, the little man is getting very good at stairs. Granted, he was very good from the start, but talk about confidence! He chases my mother up the stairs as I trail behind, or later as my grandmother trailed behind. He is so completely proud of himself when he reaches the landing. He’s also walking much more confidently now. The photo below is one in a series of him walking to my mother. I think the constant encouragement, and enormous amount of space (compared to our camper…) are awesome when related to learning to walk. Not to mention, no furry distractions here. He absolutely loves the attention, the affection and the challenges. What I absolutely love is that no matter how much fun he is having, he occasionally crawls, or walks over to me and gives me a hug and expects a kiss before he moves on to continue his play. I love that my little dude loves his momma!
Tommorow, we’ll check out Storyville and visit the Senior Center. I can’t wait to see how he enjoys exploring more new places, and what the ladies at the center think of my not-so-little dude. Being here is wonderful and bittersweet. I always know how much I miss having family locally. But being here, having them, and especially seeing the look on my son’s face. Sheer joy, most of the time… Going home is always emotional. That said, God has this all in his hands. I need to take my fears, my dreams, my hopes, my prayers and direct them all to Him. He has a plan, I just need to open my heart to what it is. And meanwhile, while I have this opportunity, I need to enjoy it, relish it, breathe it all in. What a joy it is!
