Our days.

Our days! How does the saying go? The days go by slowly but the years (months? weeks?) go by quickly? I can't believe it's almost June, I can't believe I have an 8 month old baby, and I can't believe we're two-thirds of the way to hitting Quinn's third birthday. There are so many days where I feel like I'm close to drowning, and then when I'm able to come up for air and take a look around, I have the perspective to see how far I've moved - and sometimes it's shocking. That's how I feel with my babies - busy in a sea of diapers and stories and owies and hugs and breakfasts / lunches / dinners and carseat-snapping and baths and songs and snuggles and groceries - and all of a sudden I look and they're so grown up. (I'm convinced this feeling, this experience will never go away.) 

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We had a really happy few days with my mom here. She allowed me to survive an extra-long trip away for Mike, and gave Quinn some of that extra attention that he really thrives on these days (he's still adjusting to having a little brother). I swear that every time she comes, he makes some sort of gigantic cognitive leap. This time (as it often is), it was talking - lots and lots of new words, expressions and sentences from him. It still surprises (shocks!) me every time something new comes out of his mouth, especially when it's things like this morning, post-haircut - Thanks for the haircut, Mom! With a giant smile on his face, followed up by a big hug. You can see the wheels in his head spinning, spinning, spinning, and I'm certain that has a lot to do with his energy, and sometimes-frustration to get. things. out. 

Our housekeeper is from El Salvador, and while she speaks good English, she has always spoken quite a bit of Spanish to Quinn. Yesterday, he was in a mood - and refusing to eat anything, only wanting milk (he'd survive on it entirely if I allowed it). He begged and begged me - Mama! Milk! Mama! Milk! PLEEEEEEEASE THIS MILK!!!!!! I kept saying no (food > milk), and he was frustrated. Eva walked into the room, and he took one look at her and said, Leche!! Leche poshopegbeish (leche por favor - he's still working on the please part, apparently). 

I kid you not. He figured out that I spoke English, and that Eva spoke Spanish, and dug deep into his brain to pull out the vocab word for milk hoping that she would have mercy on him. Eva looked at me and just about lost it (she's always so proud when he says anything in Spanish). Smart boy, I tell you. 

(She offered him agua instead.)

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He has two Donkeys now. We had a back-up Donkey just in case and when we actually had to use it (Donkey was lost), he realized how soft and fluffy the back up was. It must have clicked, because he was quickly asking for New Donkey before naps and bedtime, while still wanting to hold on to Old Donkey. The other night, I was eavesdropping on him settling down to go to sleep in his crib when I heard, Night Night New Donkey! Night night Old Donkey! I love you! 

Lately, when he's sad or in trouble - especially in trouble - he asks for Grandma, and to go to Spokane. We talk about Priest Lake a lot and I cannot believe what he can remember (there is a lot of talk of swimsuits, Danner the dog and cousins). Speaking of remembering - when my mom was here, she took him to HEB for a few groceries, and they swung by the case of fresh lobster. That didn't go over so well, and grocery shopping has basically been ruined for me ever since that experience. He talks about the scary lobsters several times a day, even saying things like Mom! I heard the scary lobsters! I heard it! all while cupping his hand over his ear. The other day, I pulled into the parking lot and he actually burst into tears. No HEB! Trader Joe's (across the street)! No HEB! He didn't pull it together until we made it through the produce / deli section and all the way over to the opposite side of the store. Bye bye, lobsters! Bye bye! Today, at Trader Joe's, we were chatting with our cashier and I asked him to tell her why we preferred to shop here instead of across the street. His immediate response - scary lobsters! Sweet boy is not a fan of seafood.

He was talking on one of his toy cell phones the other day (how do they even know how to use those things? He's never seen anything but an iPhone), saying Okay! Alright! Bye bye! I asked him who he was talking to and he said, Elizabeth! I didn't even know that he knew how to say my sister's name, but every time he's on the phone, he's talking to Elizabeth. I love she - despite having lots and lots of nieces and nephews - still takes the time to chat with my little boy often. He loves her, clearly.

I made pancakes for breakfast the other morning - just some really simple ones from scratch, but I sauteed some strawberries to put on top (with brown sugar and butter - easy) and plopped on some whipped cream for good measure. When Quinn came to the table, he got a giant smile and said Happy Birthday!!! 

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West is my happy baby. He's mellow, and easy to please, and waits patiently for me when he wakes up, always saying hello with the happiest smile. He loves to snuggle, which is perfect balance with my toddler who is mostly always squirming away, preferring tickles over snuggles and running, running, running everywhere he goes. He loves his Sophie toy, walks in the stroller, and the chocolate banana muffins that friend Megan brought over today. He's eating a lot of things, refuses any sort of pureed baby food (a good thing, I suppose - baby led weaning is working really well for us), and is obviously not malnourished in the least. I think that he is perfectly squishy. 

(Have I mentioned that with all of the initial measurements that had to happen with West's helmet process, we were able to see that his cheeks are actually statistically large? No surprise.)  

He's almost done with his helmet, by the way. Everyone said it would go by quickly, and I feel really lucky that it has - and extra grateful that we've had such an incredibly mild spring this year. In the meantime, we've seen incredible and quick results. I'm so ready to not snuggle with a bowling ball any more. He has such nice hair (is it brown or blond? not sure yet) - and lots of it. 

West still isn't sitting up, and I'm getting a little impatient, mostly because I know how much fun they have once they see the world from a new point of view. But his head! It's not exactly small, and probably weighs a lot, so I guess I can't really blame him. This morning, he was teetering in a tri-pod stance for a few seconds, and I cheered. I know he'll get there, and I'm not worried in the least, but I still have to remind myself sometimes that kids are different and do things at their own pace in their own way. I play the comparison game with my two boys quite a bit of course - especially since they were born so closely together (September 16th and September 20th, two years apart). It's easy to think about what we were doing with Quinn during the same month when he was the same age, and just a little bit harder to remember that it's okay if things don't line up exactly.

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I was lucky that my own mom was here on Mother's Day. Sweet friend Noelle had us over for dinner since Mike was gone, and I felt as I have every year since Quinn was born - lucky to have the mama that I do (because I really believe she is one of the most loyal, selfless, kind people I know), and also grateful for the opportunity to have observed and to observe dear friends parent their own little ones. These friends have always been a quick phone call away, and I'm really grateful for the village that is helping me raise my boys - my sisters, my friends, my mother. I'm also really grateful for the friends I've made in Texas who have helped me, especially as Mike's schedule seems to get increasingly hard. I'm certain I couldn't do it on my own, and am grateful to have never felt entirely alone.

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Excuse the brain vomit. I've been trying to sort through what to do with our blog for the past several months  - what the purpose of it really is (I've never been strategic beyond wanting to keep a record of our family), and how public I want it to be (an issue in and of itself). I haven't figured it out quite yet. In the meantime, I want to remember these little snippets of our days, because as hard as they can sometimes be, as long as they often are - they are precious, they will be over quickly, and I know that I am lucky to get to be a mother.

Our days have looked a little bit like this.