Wow... another year and another... Kid? It was a big one.
I am up having fed little Daphne and hoping (praying, crossing my fingers, etc) that she will stay asleep... at least until 5am (it is 2:55am now... is that too much to ask?)
Looking back:
January - After a hellish December, I think I spent January giving myself pep talks and considering googling for a new job, whereas, you (Cooper) began using a few words. We were still agonizing about whether you were talking at all and then enough. Little did we know that in a year you wouldn't stop talking, but that is a ways off, this month we listened to your few words, watched you play with new toys and enjoyed the return of Franco! We had visits with friends and snuggled together.
February - You turned TWO!!! TWO!!! TWO??? Why is this going so fast, and that was almost a YEAR ago. It was a very special time, and made all the more special by Mickey Mouse playing a prominent role. You continued to be far more cool than any two year old I have ever known and with the passage of another year we just loved you more... which just keeps happening.
March - The brain trust continued to steer you in the right direction, and it was "mo" everything, but with manners, so "mo, tease." I finally found the video and went on a posting bonanza and showed off all your words (still but a fraction of your vocabulary now, but after 2 years of waiting, each word we heard was like gold for the ears... um, or something like that. You continued to be glued to my hip, you already knew your colors and some kicking karate moves. I found out I was pregnant with wee little Daphne - an unknown other than the little person making me feel like hell ALL the time and sapping almost all my energy, which of course is when you randomly woke up midway through the night needing attention... enter Steve. As the month ended you continued with new words and began to use the potty - what a rockstar!
April - In between feeling like I was going to puke/die/fall asleep at my desk and writing about feeling like I was going to puke/die/fall asleep at my desk I began to deal with the hardest part of being a parent of two - feeling like I was jipping you.. which is not that different from before, but now instead of feeling like I worked too much and was robbing you of mommy-Cooper time, I began to feel like this other little being was cramping our style. Too late, though, I already loved her, though she was still an unknown. I took lots of generally adorable pictures of you, and documented your awesomeness including one of the first holidays where you "got it" and rocked an Easter egg hunt like nobody's business. Other things you rocked like nobody's business - big boy underwear!
May - I spent most of this month working or complaining about working, despite telling people at work I was pregnant (hoping that information would lead to someone being like "you are working too hard - here take a nap and have some chocolate," which, sadly, did not happen). However we found time to go to a farm, go to the fountain and eat ice cream. You ran the hallways and became more of a little person - shedding any remnants of the baby you once were.
June - I continued to be emotional and hormonal, but we rocked it out at Navy Pier with Beka anyway - flying over Lake Michigan at 40+ miles per hour - cause you are just brave like that. I realized that you have (in my modest opinion) somewhat advanced abilities to write and draw and I am already planning on steering you towards a good state school for undergrad before you go to some Ivy League place for grad school in something brilliant (assuming your pro sports career doesn't work out). Daphne made another big screen appearance and we again started planning on moving (fortunately not to any of the first 3 places we looked at). Daddy got the short end of the stick on father's day, but since he gets you and your sibling without ever having to host you in his body, it seems a fair trade. My shots in the rear started this month and you boogied before bed doing a barnyard dance.
July - I worked on the fourth, but managed to make time for paranoia about Daphne's health. You worked on your stand up routine, and seeing Daphne on the big screen put my fears to rest. I ate half of Chicago and we packed up our lives (again) and I used my first real vacation from work - one whole week off - to move across town. Fortunately, I was pregnant and lazy, so we made Daddy (and the movers) do most of the work, and I mainly just hung out with you.
August - I saw the first Daphne smile and your sweet singing voice made me smile, too. I think pregnancy got to me a little bit this month - too many "maybes" - maybe this is wrong, maybe that is wrong - and too little sleep. As an added bonus, having Daphne in my belly led to making new, unexpected friends at work. Perhaps the only thing that kept me sane at work, while you and Daddy kept me going at home. Steve and I celebrated 3 years and marveled that we had done so much, still felt like we had so much more to accomplish and managed to love each other through it.
September - You began SCHOOL with MS. KATHY (who is GOD around these parts) and I cried a little inside, because time... too fast. You braved an injury and acquired a weird habit of covering your face with band aid facial hair. Even more awesome, when you don facial hair, you also talk with a rocking accent.
October - Vroom! Go Lightning! And lightning went... Trick or treating! And was the MOST polite trick or treater EVER! Daphne got bigger as did our to-do list. You moved into a big boy bed (though you moved back to the crib briefly for a bit, this was another seamless transition you sailed through). There was a lot of potty time and Daphne finally got a name... well, two, actually.
November - HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE GIRL!!! We finally got to meet Daphne, and MY OH MY was she a beautiful surprise! A little girl! We snapped constant pictures with our cell phones and Cooper came to visit me in the hospital and got to meet his little sister for the first time. Little did we know, our world just changed AGAIN in a very huge way... actually, we had a pretty good idea what was happening, we just couldn't imagine all the specifics.
December - As people came to visit the princess, I made the rounds of local hospitals. It was horrible to be away from both of you guys, but you made it through with the help of great friends and family (and if I am honest, probably hardly (if at all) noticed my absence, you were in such good hands and having so much fun). We rolled into the holidays, sleepless nights, pajama days, and lots of compromise and audibles. Family came in to see Daphne's first Christmas and Cooper's first Christmas where Santa was an understood concept, and not something we were more excited for than him.
Despite the lack of sleep, I feel more rested in a sense this year. I am so at peace and relaxed right now, and I am enjoying soaking up every second with these two kids and Steve. I know how lucky we are to have our time together, and cannot imagine how people get by on less, but at the same time, I remember having to get by on waaaay less, which makes this all the more special.
Kiddos - I am so excited to see what happens in the next year.
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
3 years ago
