The thing is, we’ve been married 15 years, together for 23 and a half, but it feels like I have known Hubbie for a lifetime and so much more.
We make each other’s days brighter, and there is no one I’d rather share my joy and woe with at the end of the day.
I love him, and he makes my world a better place.
As expected, the sun came out today, and reminded me of the beautiful day that we got married 15 years ago.
I am blessed. 🙏🩷😍🥰
Firstly, ⬆️⬆️⬆️⬆️
WOO HOO!
3000 posts on Car Crash Gratitude. Well I’ll be damned.
🙇♀️
Second. This weekend was a busy but really fun and fulfilling one. And what made it interesting was that we tested baby boy’s boundaries a lot.
First by going to a 21st birthday last night, where we stayed well past his bedtime… even with his later than normal afternoon nap, he was in a different place, with a lot of people, touching and looking at a lot of different things, and just generally getting animated by everything.
He was upset when we had to change him, sure. Let’s just say good thing we were far from the party and the music was loud, because he screamed. But we soon settled him, held him, and he was asleep in our arms.
Today we had a kids birthday party. We drove in the car before his nap time, the drive was long, and he got upset.
Eventually he fell asleep, and then he kept sleeping! But he woke there, at a dinosaur party, once again with all these different people and things, and he was kept really busy and happy for hours until his drive home again, having another late nap in the car.
It’s been a bit of a go-with-the-flow weekend, where we couldn’t look too closely at wake windows and nap times… we’ve been doing it non-stop since August last year. His random routine, and then strict routine after we spoke with a sleep consultant, meant we didn’t really steer too far from what he was meant to do for his age.
But now that he’s 1, we made a pact that we would try to go to as many parties and functions as possible this year because we missed out on so much last year… and that means he has to get adaptable! Flexible!
Sure, he gets upset at times. We don’t let him get too upset, there is ALWAYS someone nearby.
But what I think is happening in the process too is he is actually becoming more friendly, social, going up to random people curiously, not crying when people pick him up or hold him.
It’s actually helping him.
So our pact, which is kinda for us, is kinda for him too, and so far it’s been going alright.
🤞🙏
Today’s sentiment is all that. About time.
I’m spending all of my free time (that is, time when baby boy is asleep during the day) doing housework or cleaning up, so it’s never really ever ‘me time,’ it’s more ‘jobs time.’ 🙄
But I had about enough today. I got him down to sleep for his main nap, and I felt pooped. A bit under the weather too, tired, even a little sniffly/sneezy… so I said that’s it.
I’m sitting down to watch a movie, and I ain’t moving.
I fixed myself a camomile tea, stretched out on the couch and proceeded to watch one of the most timely of titles.
‘About Time.’
I haven’t watched it all, about half, but I love it already so much. I also love how I was able to escape – it was a passive form of creativity, of escapism, and as much as I love reading, sometimes you need to just sit there and veg out.
Which is what I did, and I realised how much I missed that form of time out, that crucial self-care.
Another ‘about time’ moment came later in the day, around dinner time.
Yep! My first drink. Since about June 2022. My goodness. I was initially thinking of not having anything because of how I felt during the day, but I felt like I would just have a little sip with my family at home, just to see how much of a cheap drunk I am now. (Affirmative 🤣)
It tasted like I had never left it, which is both strange and frightening, ha ha. It was nice though, to sip and unwind, something I’m not used to…
Unwinding? Relaxing? These concepts so foreign to me, due to the last couple of years, more so this last year, well I hope they become more and more familiar in time…
About time. 🙏💖
A couple of things of note this week.
Earlier this week baby boy moved up a nappy size officially! He was using size 3s for so long, and then more recently size 4s overnight, but I’ve moved him to 4s permanently now.
The second thing… in the space of a week 3 top teeth have burst through his gum. And with the way he’s been acting, they definitely did BURST through. 🤦♀️
And finally… today was the last planned breastfeed I gave him. I am a little shocked at all of this.
More on this subject to come… 🥰💙💖🙏
Oh my goodness! Our little boy is not so little anymore!
And it’s not because he is 52 weeks today and about to turn 1 tomorrow…
It’s because he had his curly locks chopped off!
😲😲
Look, it was falling in his eyes, so the haircut was really needed. And the new do… I just can’t… he looks like a little boy, so grown up. 🥰
I really do hope the curls come back, but for now we are enjoying this little boy that has arrived at our home, oh-so-grown up for his 1st birthday, and also, after his bath tonight…
His hair went curly again! 😁😁➿➿
He is taking up to 10 steps at a time.
He is not scared of falling over, and will easily plonk forward when his legs are unable to support him any longer.
His favourite thing to do? Roll around and throw himself all over the couch (with adult supervision of course!)
LOVES FOOD. NOM NOM NOM.
Everything goes in his mouth, like EVERYTHING.
Has already done a proper tantrum style episode, lying face down on the floor banging his hands on the floor and crying. We laughed.
He wants what he wants.
He’s a real explorer.
Loves the Wiggles and Bluey, but mostly his sister.
This cheeky boy with the curly hair blows my mind, and I can’t actually believe he is so close to turning 1. 🥰🥲
YAY!
Guess who took his official steps today!
👣👶
Baby boy has been doing like one, two steps for a little while now, but he did a multitude of steps on his own today, several several times, and at the end of the day took a whole 9 steps on his own!
Officially walking, just before his 1st birthday!
God help us all! 🤣🥰💖🙏
Guess who started making sounds today?
👶
He started rattling off “Da da da da da da da” this evening as we were mucking about on the couch – he loves rolling around against the soft cushioning, throwing himself into it.
We’ve been trying to help him make sounds for a while now. Hubbie has been saying “da da da” to him, I’ve been saying “ma ma ma” and baby girl tries to get him to do a shortened variation of her name, or just copies what we are doing. 🤣
But, the ‘da da da’ won out! At this stage it’s just sounds, (I comfort myself with this fact!) as they learn different things, rather than knowing what, or who those sounds are actually attributed to…
It is honestly, an excellent milestone, and we taped him a plenty tonight as he babbled all over the place. 🥰
Today I put the 11 months animal sticker on baby boy.
Only one more in the set to go!
It made me a little emotional, bewildered, amazed that we had come this far.
Survived. Still surviving.
So much has challenged us these past 11 months, and I know that these challenges are a part of life… but boy, does the first year of new baby life test you in every way.
I felt a bit chuffed, proud of myself. I’m still getting there, day by day. But today I celebrate, getting here. 🙏❤💙🙏
Every time I’m counting something, and so here we are again.
10 months in.
I realise now that where I used to get really frustrated by sudden changes in baby boy’s temperament, routine, wake window and nap requirements, anything really, now I’m coming to expect it.
He needed serious assistance for every nap today, and I was like 🤷♀️
Every time he hits a milestone, there is some kind of difficulty, challenge.
But how can I be so upset, when he looks up at me with that drooling smile, reaching up to me and pulling himself up onto every bit of furniture faster than I can say “let me take a photo!”
This is what we’ve come to expect, and we’ve survived 10 months of it! That is some serious effort. I tell myself repeatedly that the day will come where the nights are easier and smoother, and he doesn’t crack it for every single milestone he hits.
We have survived 10 of the most difficult months of the newborn year. That requires a celebration (or at the very least for these routine-oriented, sleep-deprived parents, a simple pat on the back 😆).
carcrashgratitude 