Hello Again

Well at the time of my last post I was 3 ½ months pregnant and ready to face the summer head-on wondering what the next few months would bring. I faced the normal parent-to-be worries being extremely concerned with how I would handle the lack of sleep that was known to plague new parents. Now almost 10 months later I just simply wonder how the time went by so quickly.
On November 8th, 2009 Sam and I welcomed our baby boy Landrick into the world. I clearly remember the doctor saying ‘well, we were both wrong’ right after Landrick was born, as both she and Sam had thought that ‘he’ was going to be a ‘she’. Because we chose not to find out the sex of our baby before he was born, I’ve spent the last 4 ½ months realizing just what it means to have a son… and imagining what adventures are in store for all three of us.
It has amazed me just how many emotions I’m able to have during what seems to be a 10 second interval… so excited that our ‘Little Man’, as Sam calls him, is growing up and doing new things each day, but at the same time that our baby is moving further and further away from being a newborn… that’s the stuff no one is able to explain to you before you reach parenthood yourself… it’s simply something you just have to feel.
Although sometimes I’m still amazed that I am old enough to be a parent, motherhood has suited me well. When you have a baby of your own it is almost as if another sense awakens and you know what they need, when they need to eat, or sleep, or perhaps just needs a little snuggle time. Your heart tears wide open when they cry, regardless of why, and it fills with complete happiness every time they smile, even if perhaps provoked by gas. I can vividly recall pondering with Sam the morning after Landrick’s first night at home how in the world people ‘do this’ with more than one child… now I realize that you just do. All of the ‘hard parts’ seem to melt away with each day of parenthood and you just get things done because you have to… it does not feel like an obligation or a chore, but perhaps more of a privilege. I am so very thankful to God every single day that I got to experience another day as someone’s mother.

In an attempt to capture glimpses of Landrick’s journey through life, I hope to post on a more consistent basis… (I’m not off to a good start though, considering I spent the last 30 minutes retyping this post, as the first (and better) one was accidentally deleted with one stroke of a button).

I’ll start with this…

On Tuesday’s (which is today), Landrick spends some time with Nikk and the kiddos. Today shortly after I arrived Nikki was holding him while I prepared some supper for the two of us. Landrick proceeded to vigorously try to eat/suck/lick her shoulder and then her face, while at the same time babbling in his baby language. My guess was that he was trying to give his Aunt Nikki some kisses… He was so loud and ‘eager’ that Ross could hear him in the other room. After the sloberfest subsided (about 10 minutes later) Landrick peacefully fell asleep on her shoulder… I guess one could say that it was the ‘store’ before the ‘calm’.