Hey Jude,
My sweet, charming, mischievous, infectious, darling little boy: you turned 2 this week. And I just don't believe it.
You have stolen my heart and it will forever walk outside of my body with you.
I love you to the moon and back and adore you more than I can describe.
Thank you for coming to our family and for being such a pleasant and rewarding influence in my life.
I love you, I love you, I love you.
And because I love you, we threw you a birthday brunch to celebrate with friends and family who love you too.
Oh, and Grandma flew in just for the occasion :). She loves you to the moon and back, and also from Pennsylvania and back.
We were so busy pumping out tons of crispy, delicious waffles that we didn't get pictures of everyone--sorry for everyone we missed!
Look at handsome Lewis modeling those perfectly 80's punch balls!
Nana made Jude a school bus cake--coolest thing ever!
And hands are definitely more efficient than forks ;)
And Jude finished the day off by showing us his full belly.
And playing with his new Finn and Jake action figures :).
Once again, we love you little dude. And thanks so much to all of our little friends and their stellar parents for coming and making this such a fun party!
Happy Birthday to Jude! from
Britney Stevens on
Vimeo.
You know those days when you're left at the end of feeling emotionally, mentally, and physically drained?
Today has been one of those days.
We celebrated the 2nd birthday of my sweet boy and it was a wonderful day, but life still rears its ugly head no matter what day it is--yet the Lord is always mindful of us and we've had some tender mercies today which remind us that He is there and aware of both our joys and our trials.
All-in-all, it's been a day of gratitude with my little family. Our darling boy had a wonderful birthday and we are so thankful for his presence in our family--because, oh, what a joyful presence it is!
He is one happy, goofy, car-loving, watermelon-devouring little heartbreaker and I'm excited beyond belief for the next year and years to come to get to know him and watch him become the incredible person he will without a doubt be.
Motherhood is pretty legit. And I'll see you tomorrow.
Honestly, it's been a pretty uneventful week.
Work. Come home. Play. Eat dinner. Go to bed.
--and on days I'm not working--
Wake up. Stay in PJ's all day. Coax Jude into helping me do laundry. Find reasons to eat Nutella. Throw things off the balcony. Watch funny Youtube videos while Jude naps. Make dinner. Eat dinner. Give Jude a bubble bath. Watch Rachel Zoe and then go to bed.
Yesterday, Jude was getting really antsy to go outside, so when I discovered it was raining again this morning, I threw Jude in Converses and a flannel shirt and we went to some local toy stores.
Can I just tell you: I felt like the smartest, most conniving, most genius parent there ever was by taking my near two-year-old who is, sadly, getting bored with his own toys to a place full of new and exciting toys galore without needing to purchase a darn thing.
He played. And played. And played.
And then I realized that my plan was flawed when I would get bored and say, "Come on, buddy. It's time to go to the next store," after-which my son transformed from a sweet little cream puff playing with a new train to an angry bobcat in labor.
So, I bought myself a beyond amazing salad from Trader Joe's and told myself I wasn't a complete failure. Then topped off my pity-party with donut holes and a nap.
But aside from, apparently, ruining his life more than once today, we realized that Jude is ready for some big boy toys for his birthday. So excited. :)
And coincidentally, when daddy got home the sun came out and we took a stroll outside and ran into the sunset with our tongues hanging out.
And then we made a loin cloth out of bubbles.
He was pretty confused.
Yesterday was the most beautiful day we've had so far this year and we took advantage of it also being a Saturday that I wasn't working to enjoy an extra-special family day :).
I woke up before the boys (imagine that) and made some deliciously crispy waffles topped with berries and syrup.
We spent a good portion of the day at The Children's Museum--which, if you haven't gone, is fantastic. Especially when everyone else is at the zoo and you have the whole place to yourself :).
After that we had lunch in Portland and then went home and all took a nap.
I think we run on toddler-nap schedules too. But I mean, come on, overload two adults with carbs and throw them in a museum for kids all morning and you'd all be toast. No pun intended.
So guess what happened a week after I got better?
You, guessed it--didn't you?
I got sick. Again. With a cold, fever, and pretty gnarly sore throat.
You always tell yourself when others complain about their very normal trials and label them as "punishment-for-this-or-that", that they don't understand the concepts of "life isn't fair, good things happen to bad people, no one is special," and "why not them?" and blah blah blah.
And then you get put the exact same situation. It actually happens to you and now it has to indeed be punishment for not, perhaps, being more attentive to that one patient that one day who had a cold too, or for just not being a completely perfect person for whatever reasons.
Ha. Obviously, I learned a lesson or two during the past few weeks of off-and-on-again sickness. Consequently, I am walking back into the world with my tail between my legs and head down just a little bit.
You look at life differently when your body forces you to take a break from the norm--controlling and modifying what, when and how much you can now eat, how often and how much rest and sleep you now need, whether your head is going to explode today or not, and most painfully: whether you can see or even kiss your little boy today or if you have to wait until tomorrow.
Buh.
Today seems to be my last day of recovery. I thank the Lord daily that Jude has stayed healthy during all of this. And throughout all of it I have been grateful for my good life and for all of the amazing things I have to resume enjoying after my health returns to me.
Thanks to all of you just awesome people for your support, sweet calls and texts, help and concern!
Gosh, I just love you all.
Have your own personal dance party on me. And dedicate it to me because until this virus is totally gone I'd be down-for-the-count before Katy Perry could tell me that "Baby, you're a firework."
And for the record I recommend any up-beat Britney Spears song.
Or the Spice Girls.
That photo was taken by my genius friend, Myra Merrill. Head on over to her blog if you want to see some insanely beautiful photos :)
