Oh Summer!

Shame on me! It's been almost 2 months, but to be quite honest it feels like 2 weeks! A lot has been going on, and my blog has not been top priority, but here I am with just a little update of this wonderful summer.

Life has been great, pretty great with many more activities to do now that Alex is older. Summer has been filled with plenty of smiles at the swing! Alex loves it, despite almost melting while he's in it, it's been extremely hot if you ask me.

For the 4th of July we went up to Idaho with my in-laws and enjoyed good company, good food, and amazing pool! It was a great time to relax and mostly watch Alex enjoy himself at the pool, which he absolutely did. It was the absolute cutest to see him keep his sunglasses on once he realized that it made a huge difference with the sun.

After we came back from Idaho I left for Young Women's camp for about a week. After being in the calling for about 3 years I was finally able to go and be with these amazing girls. It was a great week, I missed my boys like nobody's business but it was also great to be with these young girls so filled with faith. I actually didn't sleep all that bad - granted another leader gave me a magic sleeping pill - but still haha sleep is a most to feel like you function. Food was actually quite quite good, so aside from the infestation of flies and the one day we got a major thunder storm which made everything muddy, camp was an amazing experience. And let me tell you no one looks as attractive as when they're camping.

 After I came back we went to Thanksgiving Point, and Alex has had his swimming lessons (more on this later), and has officially started nursery at church (talk about separation anxiety for him and ME!!), he got a haircut without crying at all, and in 2 weeks we're heading to Cancun wohooo! I'm beyond excited to see my family and see Alex play with his cousin, and hopefully enjoy the sand haha...a bit of a stretch but we can certainly hope. Alex is growing wonderfully! Today he said mama twice, finally!!! He keeps learning and cracking me up with some of the things he does. Life is good, this summer has been one of the greatest. I love my little family and everything that we learn and live together.

Are you still there mommy?

Warm weather has a way of keeping you pretty busy, so I haven't been writing on my blog as of late. But anyway, life is good! Life is busy and we all keep growing. I'm really looking forward to this summer and getting Alex some swimming lessons along with some fun at the beach and the pool. Alex has officially arrived toddler land - sigh. I often wonder how much frustration can fit into such a tiny body. He's beyond determined and spirited when he wants something and will not take no for an answer unless physically removed from the situation, and even then he fights me. Joys of parenthood right? But truly, it has been a teaching experience for me as I'm learning to shape his character and how soothe him and help him self-soothe. But then he smiles and who can resist it?

I have really been enjoying the weather as I have been able to place Alex on my BOB stroller and just go jogging. He loves it! Usually he'll just sit back and enjoy the view. I never hear a word from him, as he'll usually turn back almost to check that I'm still there, smile and then turn around. Yesterday he did something different. I was getting close to finishing up when I heard him mumble something but almost like a question, he didn't turn around, he just mumbled. I was running so talking is not the easiest, but it felt to me that that was his way of making sure I was still there. It almost felt like he was asking: are you still there mommy? So of course I responded that I was still there. It was an endearing moment in knowing that it's still so important for him to know I'm there. And I won't lie it felt good to know that even though he keeps growing and getting so independent, that in small meaningful ways he still needs me to feel safe. These feeling came because of a poem I read not long ago that brought me to tears:

"A wish for my children"

On this doorstep I stand

year after year

to watch you going

and think: May you not

skin your knees. May you

not catch your fingers

in car doors. May

your hearts not break.

May tide and weather

wait for your coming

and may you grow strong

to break

all webs of my weaving.

These words struck a cord with me because it felt bittersweet the acceptance of this mother that we so carefully weave all of these things for them to finally break them. Alex has already broken many of mine, and he will continue to do so as he continues to grow, learn, and become more independent. That is why that little mumble meant the world to me, some things never change. The comfort of knowing that mom is still there is forever a need. It's nice to know I can help someone feel safe, and it feels even sweeter that that someone is my own little boy.

Just walking on the grass

Alex hates the grass. For whatever reason, he really does not like the feel of it and will not walk on it easily. However, we had a pretty good walking day about 2 weeks ago that we walked on temple grounds, despite his ambivalence for grass he was quite content just walking around. I took my camera and just took what seemed like a million of pictures.

 

It was also a great reminder oh how cute Alex looks with this Daddy, and how much they enjoy playing together!

I have been living in Utah for seven years now, it's been a very long time. If something is true is that repetitive normalcy becomes dull - if we allow it. Today on such a beautiful day it was very clear that sometimes I forget that we live in such a beautiful place, beautiful blue skies, and mountains as our canvas. These pictures show that.

It's days like these when there is a huge confirmation that life is good....life is really good.

When the "right" way is not working: Lessons from a toy

This morning Alex was playing as he usually does, this time he started playing with a little ball that has holes to different shapes. He has made the connection that certain shapes go into certain holes, so this time he was trying to get the triangle out from the way it usually goes in. He can totally fir his hand in there but he cannot get the triangle out unless he lets go and takes it out by the bigger hole on the back. Well Alex being Alex he decided he wanted to take it out the "right" way, meaning through the right hole. He was getting pretty frustrated, until he finally gave up and took it out from behind and there he went happy as ever.

Not from this morning, but the toy I'm talking about

Looking at him going through this experience, I realized that it was like watching myself in so many ways (talk about a parenting mirror eh?) I realized that there are many times when I think/believe there is a right way to be a mom, of doing things, and foolishly I persist in trying those things when it's clearly not working. Really when all I had to do was open the hole from the back so-to-speak. I'm doing better, I think haha. I have come to realize that having too much information is a double-edge sword. When you use it with flexibility it's a great asset, but when you cling to it and forget to realize that your son is a human - with all of the implications of what that means- it's really not that fantastic, in fact, it's quite frustrating because things are not going by the book. As Alex continues to grow, I marvel more at his uniqueness, and what it truly means to do things the right way, which is doing what is best depending on the day, his mood, my mood, circumstances etc. It works out so much better and I don't feel frustrated but am able to enjoy him more and his own humanness - which is by the way adorable.

Life as of late

I've been finding myself rather busy lately and forgetting about my blog, but I thought I would write something easy going and just an update of things of late. I'm like a month late reporting these things but oh well better late than ever. I'll start with the little getaway Brian and I had for my birthday the end of March, we went to Vegas!!! This was really fun and interesting since it was the first time that I was away from Alex for an extended amount of time, Alex was safe with grandma though. The day we got to Vegas we took a fabulous nap and then got ready to have an AMAZING dinner at Lawry's, such good food!!

It was great to dress up and just enjoy some time really savoring the food! As all of you moms know that is really not possible when you're more focused on feeding your child haha so anyway it was a great start of my birthday celebration!

The next day was really good! My amazing husband made an appointment for me to get pampered at the hotel. I got nothing less than being at the jacuzzi, full body exfoliation, a facial, a massage, and a hair treatment and afterwards a shower scented with coconut/melon aromas. I was in heaven!! It was really just what I needed, and felt so incredibly relaxed.

After those hours of absolute heaven bliss it was time to rejoin my award-winning hubby and get ready to go see Def Leppard one more time! Yep we're huge fans! So we walked until we got to the wax museum to kill some time before we went to the Hard Rock. I have to say it was a lot of fun but also creepy those things look so incredibly real! I thought they would talk to me at any second! So here we are sporting our Def Leppard shirts.

Afterwards we headed to the concert which was amazing as usual! It could have been better but we had the misfortune of sitting right behind these four men who looked in their 40s but behaving like they were 15 (prob because of extra alcohol)!! But all in all it was an amazing concert and we had a great time of 2+ hours of Def Leppard goodness!!

I will have to say that although I missed Alex terribly a getaway such as this was soo good for us individually and for our marriage. It's a good reminder to focus on each other and replenish our energies to go back to the daily routine and with our beautiful boy, who btw gave us the biggest smile as soon as he saw us, melted my heart.

Alex is doing great, I swear that I say that each stage is my favorite but then the next one comes and I love it even more. He's in such a fun stage, he gives hugs and kisses, he sticks out his tongue and laughs hysterically, he's even learned to stomp his feet on the ground like he's dancing some kind of flamenco beat it's adorable! We feel incredibly blessed to have him for our son, and the many things that we continue to learn and experience because of him. We love you little one!

This Thursday Brian and I will be celebrating 4 years of marriage! It went by super fast, and I will be forever grateful that I made the best decision of my life in marrying him. Here's to a great anniversary celebration!

Superman = Husband with sax

Yesterday was one of those days...I woke up with a headache which usually means I'm not nearly as patient as I can be, Alex woke up on the wrong side of the bed as he was just complaining about everything under the sky, Brian had a long demanding day at work so needless to say we were all trying to keep it all together by dinner time. Usually Alex will make this face while I'm feeding him, with some distractions needed, but overall this face makes feeding time so much easier.

Instead I got this face:

He has gotten into the habit of pushing stuff away when he doesn't want it. I was trying to feed him some soup and he had tried several times to push the bowl away from my hands. I tried offering him some other options, he just flat out didn't want to eat. I tried the soup again, and then bam he pushed it just a bit stronger to point that most of it fell on my lap, and the floor. I felt it, that visceral feeling we moms can get, when all sympathy and empathy disappear and you just want to either punch a pillow or scream at the top of your lungs, or both. I didn't do either, I just ran upstairs to get changed and said a quick prayer because I so wanted to stay calm and not strangle my child! I came back downstairs to find Brian on his knees cleaning up the mess on the floor, and immediately he went and got his sax. With the stress we both were feeling, having some music was like healing balm to my soul, especially because well he's amazingly talented! It didn't fix the problem, it didn't change the situation, but it did change my attitude. Alex ended up eating something else, while looking intently at daddy playing his sax, it helped to change his mood a bit as well.

For me this was heroic, superhero heroic haha because he was also tired and stressed from his job, and yet he found a way to help the environment in our home with his talent. I'm so grateful for this wonderful man!

My mother-in-law took this picture of Alex....One day he will be superman like his daddy, with his sax!

Sometimes you just have to wait

A 14 month old toddler can mean many things but one remains universal: mess! Alex loves to play and have fun and you know perfectly well when he has been in a room because it looks as if a tornado just passed by leaving everything on the floor in pure randomness - especially now that he's pretty much running!

I have come to accept this, and clean up after he gets some quiet time on his play pen. Like I said, I usually don't have a problem with this. However, he's developed a certain fascination/habit with taking all of the books down and throwing them on the floor - yes literally throwing them on the floor I think he likes the noise it makes. You know how I feel about books, and these are my books, so I'm especially protective of them and after one got almost torn I said to myself that I was going to endure the endless task of teaching him to not touch the books. Yesterday, I was particularly tired after a not so great night of sleep, so my usual determined self was only partially present. After telling him no several times and having some meltdowns I gave up and said fine! Play with the books. After an acceptance of defeat, I started noticing something that absolutely melted my heart. He had taken most of the books down and done his usual routine when I noticed he was picking them one by one and trying to organize them back on the bookshelf. I almost started crying over this tender moment, and noticed that had I continued on my determined mission I would have never seen this. It dawned on me that the many many times I have sang to him the "clean-up" song while trying to teach him to put stuff away was actually something he remembered and was trying to emulate. I just grabbed him and gave him a strong hug while kissing him on the cheek just grateful for him, and who he is. Obviously he wasn't able to put the books the way they were but this is the result of his attempt:

 

I realized one simple truth: sometimes you just have to wait. Good things in life take time much like a planted garden. I have decided that I will wait on him more, and try push things on my own time table less, much less - which is ironic because he just decided to change his nap time and I'm dreading every minute of it! He's learning, he observes, he changes and just when I was having a more difficult day he comes around and teaches me, yes once more, because sometimes you just have to wait.

Some extra pics from last Easter Sunday, he hates the grass but for some egg hunting he made an exception hehe I couldn't get over how cute he looked on his new outfit and big boy shoes!