Officially 2, 3rd edition

My dear sweet baby,

Wow, you’re 2 already, and you still can’t talk! That’s ok though, because although “uhh” and “ahh” can be annoying, I am sure it’s less so that you saying “mommy” a million times for the day, not that I don’t want to hear the word “mommy” come out of your precious little mouth, but, you know, I can wait, however, I am glad that you did learn to walk at least!

I think everyone knows that I would love to have a daughter, but you know what, I love saying that I have 3 boys, it makes me feel all special, so thank you for that.

I will admit that you do have a strong affinity towards your father, but you still are my favorite most times, like when we’re home alone together, cuddled on the couch watching your “shuwss”, or when you follow me around in the kitchen dragging your little taggoo and then we have to exchange some words on the inappropriateness of taggoo being on the kitchen floor, or when I have to take you for a nap and you lay your head right next to mine with a little grin on your face! You know we have our special bond!

You know that you’ll always be the baby, you spoilt little kid, and that your brothers completely adore you, and you them, it’s wonderful to see them take care of you like you were their, ummm, pet or something! I am sure you enjoy being the center of attention, I wonder, do you get that from your mom?

I love you my sweet baby!

Peek in Monday & the kiss that never was

My husband took the kids to see The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything yesterday, and while he was trying to get them dressed, I was trying to keep the baby busy… and usually I like to harass him to kiss me, which he rarely ever does! Usually, I will just grab him and force him to endure a few minutes of my “affection”!

Now, the thing with “the baby” is that he’s almost 2 years old and he STILL does not talk! I mean, he can talk, but he’ll whisper like one word at a time, or say “uhhh uhhh”, he seems to be super shy! Anyways, I have the flu, yes, AGAIN, so I sound weird-ish, although I am told that I sound weird even when I am not congested, so…

And, yes, I did tell my 2 year old that he sucks.

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You offended him!

While waiting for breakfast, the kids decided to play car racing – as in the 2 older ones are commentators and the little one is supposed to be the audience. Maybe this concept was hard to communicate to the little one who thought that he could actually play with the little, toy cars, only to be reprimanded by his eldest sibling, “don’t touch that car!”.

Very hurt, the baby looked at me with his pout and sad, little puppy eyes, then proceeded to crawl away, in sort of a I-would-prefer-to-stomp-but-I-don’t-know-how kind of a way, to the far (relatively) end of the living room, where he sat on the floor in front of the sofa.

Because no one paid to much attention to him, he proceeded to climb on the sofa, as if to get even further away, sat himself with a loud ‘thud’ and a sigh, and then for even more dramatic effect, he stood up and dropped himself face-first back on to the sofa – at which point, my eldest took notice to proudly proclaim, “mommy, look at him! I offended him!”

Baby times three

Because I was asked by Mona and Crunchy, life with a third kid…

I used to think that I was a pretty good parent, you know, the kind who seldom gave her kids chocolate or candy, who always fed them enough vegetables, who had creative solutions to disciplinary issues, and then I had a third kid! The one, who at 1 and a half years old, eats and does things that my eldest didn’t until he was 3!

A third baby really changes the family dynamic, it’s the start of ‘them’ vs ‘us’, it’s no longer an equal battlefield, and the hardest thing is sometimes trying to give each one the attention they deserve. The most obvious changes for me was that my middle child seems to be the one that is always left out and the little one is about a million times more spoilt than his brothers.

Having a few kids under 4 is a real test of patience, and I think that’s when parents really figure out what they are made of! My husband, who used to be the patient one at the beginning, has completely lost his cool (and a little of his mind ), he freely admits that he cannot handle any more kids, and I can’t judge him for this, at least he does recognize that this is hard for him. I, on the other hand, still feel like I can have about 2 more! Yeah, I know!! I wanna be like Cakes!

I couldn’t tell you specifically what makes having 3 kids seem like sooo much more than just having 2 kids, but for sure this number seems to really deter babysitting volunteers! While my first and second babies had frequent sleep-overs at my mom’s home, my third baby, who is referred to as “the baby”, is almost always within arms reach of us. My first and second babies were both saying words by 10 months, the third refuses to talk, even little words, although he is a year and a half – instead he has chosen “point and uhh uhhh” as his preferred method of communication. My first and second babies both had home made baby food and no chocolate at all for their first 2 years (I might have cheated a little with the second one though), the third – well, umm, I think this picture kind of says it all!

(yes, that is chocolate all over his face at 10am this morning!)

The most touching, fascinating and amazing part is watching these babies grow into brothers. I am always completely in awe when my older 2 sons treat the baby with incredible love and compassion, when they both try to explain to him the danger of climbing on the shelf or standing on his toys, when they hold his hand to help him find his way.

I love how, with this baby, I can completely enjoy his ‘babyness’, because unlike the first, I am not keeping track of milestones or having developmental competitions with other kids in his age group, and unlike the second, I am not falling apart from insecurities and fear about myself and my ability to care for multiple children. I am relishing every moment of his 1-year-old-cuteness, his chubby cheeks – which I rarely spare from tiny little bites every time I hold him, his baby laugh, his complete innocence, even his “uhh uhhhh” is endearing – sort of.

Congrats Crunchy!!!

Oh Baby

A few months of pregnancy,

A few hours of delivery,

A few weeks of recovery…

Listening to your baby breathing as he lays on your chest…worth every second of the agony… Even if it only lasts a few moments before he spits up on you!!

As I am here with only 2 of them, I am getting to spend more time with the baby and even though he is the third, its still pretty amazing to watch them grow up. He is starting to play with me now, he is laughing and ‘coo-ing’…its great fun…