What I'm Loving

What I'm loving about motherhood:

*The noises Jake makes. He coos, babbles, whimpers, and snores (that cute little baby snore).

*The faces Jake makes. He goes through a litany of them while he sleeps: he'll smile, frown, raise his eyebrows, purse his lips, smile again, etc. It's quite funny to watch- I must get a video of this!

*Sharing duties. Mark and I decided to rotate evening shifts with him. One of us gets up with him the first time he wakes, the other gets up with him the second time he wakes. And yes, we're down to him only waking twice between the hours of 11pm and 5am. Not bad!!!

*The new closeness between Mark and I. We stare for hours at Jake wondering at how we made such a cute, mild-mannered baby.

*A content baby. Seriously, Jake only cries when he's hungry, or having his diaper changed. He screams bloody murder, however, when given a bath. :)

*Reading. I read Mommy magazines voraciously while nursing or pumping. I'm learning so much- and a lot of it scares me. I enjoy learning (but yet I'm not looking forward to starting grad. school back up in September), but I hate the fear of what I'm learning...."Am I really doing this whole parent thing right?"

*Jake's pirate face. (I don't know what else to call it). When he's ready to nurse, he opens wide, closes one eye, and twists his head all around. He'll go for that area on anybody, and has tried to nurse off Daddy a few unsuccessful times. I always know he's really ready to eat when the pirate face makes an appearance.

*His car seat. We took Jake for a car ride to Portland to drop Grandma Kris off at the airport. This is a 6 hour round trip for us. The little guy only woke up twice (once at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch and then again an hour before getting home because he was hungry)! The car seat lulls him to sleep!

*My new-found, never ending emotions. Motherhood truly does change you! I no longer fear anything for myself. All my worry is in regards to my son. I have already decided that I will personally claw the eyes out of anyone who ever dare hurt him!

*Entering my 30's. I truly do not fear this decade. I embrace it! My 20's were a bit rocky, but I've got things worked out now. I am feeling really put together and believe I'm on a good path. I have a deeper understanding of why things work out the way they do, and am grateful for that. I have learned to trust and believe in a Higher Power and know that He has my best interests at heart. I finally am at peace. I finally feel content. My 30's are going to be the best time of my life!

It's funny though how life can change so dramatically in a one year period. My 29th birthday was celebrated quite differently than my 30th birthday. For my 30th birthday we stayed home. We did venture out to 2 stores, but that was it. My birthday happened to be on Father's Day this year, and we simply had a low-key day. Mom was still here to help us celebrate and we had an awesome dinner of filet mignon, fruit salad, baked potatoes, french bread, sauteed mushrooms, and fresh strawberry pie! My hubby and son spoiled me rotten. I got cards from both Mark and Jake and the following gifts: unlimited texting on my cell phone, a baby scrapbook album, baby's first year calendar, and a baby record book for his first years. I also received a crystal pacifier ring from Jake :), a Mother's ring from Mark which bears Jake's birthstone (a pearl) with two diamonds on the side, and a Sony Handycam Digital Camcorder....I've wanted one since I found out I was pregnant! Ahh...the 30's. Life is good and my son has made it better!