Mister Moses Turns One

 

Oh my stars, I love this boy.  This year has been a rough one, on many levels, and I really sometimes feel like I actually COULDN'T have done it without this little person in my life, pushing me forward and through hard times, snuggling the pain and worry away, all while brightening the dark corners of my life.  He has no idea and will never know how much I needed him.

When I couldn't walk, he gave me reason to walk- so I did.

When I couldn't sit, he gave me reason to sit- so I did.

When I couldn't speak the deep, hidden things- he snuggled deeper and let me be silent.

When I couldn't find calm- he breathed his sleepy breathes on my chest and gave me his.

What a glorious gift he is to me.

How's this for returning the favor?

The poor boy had his very first birthday cake be a tiny cupcake with leftover frosting from Judah's cake.   

 The worst part was, with two other children blowing out the candles, I missed seeing Moses "blow" out the candle- which apparently, he actually BLEW.

I wouldn't know.  I didn't see it.  

For his birthday gift, I made him a camel to sit and bounce on.  I don't know why....it isn't like I know how to make large stuffed animals or anything.  

When Adele' was a baby, I saw this picture and loved it.  I was determined to make the camel for her.  A-hem. And then didn't.  The same was true with Judah.  And Ineke.  I guess it was meant for Moses.

I *WISHED* I had a video of the first time he saw and used it- his reaction was the BEST and made it all worthwhile.

I totally made up the pattern- hoping that it would work out in the end.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I made quite a few mistakes that I wish I didn't- the neck wasn't stuffed nearly enough and is bendy.  And for some reason, it tips to one side all the time.  

But Moses loves it so.... 

Rebecca Joy, recognize anything?  I used that fabric you sent along for me once upon a time!  It was perfect- thank you!

Let me tell you a bit about Mister Moses that pictures don't:

When he was mere minutes old, his eyes were wide open and he would already turn his head to me as I spoke to him.  NONE of my babies were ever that attentive.  I couldn't believe it.

When he was VERY small, like a few months old, I would put his flattened hand on his cheek and say "Moses" and then put that sweet little fat hand on my own and say "Mama".  I did it because I wanted to teach him names.  And also because it made him smile. Even now, when we are saying names, he puts his flat hand on peoples' cheeks and grins.

He only says "Mama", even now at 14 months, and it makes me kinda feel like I am his whole world. (Shhh- don't tell.)

He did just start whispering "woooooowwww" when something is neat or new.  I love that it is always in whisper form.  And actually, he has been saying a form of 'ahhh-men' for quite a while too, now that I think about it.

He knows when we pray and already expects it before meals.

He signs words like please, thank you, more, all-done and NO.  He signs NO to me all the time when he knows he isn't supposed to do something- and is doing it anyway.

Moses took his first steps when he had JUST turned 10 months old- and was walking like a pro in a week or two.

He most recently began climbing on pianos, tables, chairs and up the stairs.

He loves being outside probably more than any other thing.

He screams a horrible squeal right now that I am trying to break him of and when he is mad he will bang his head on furniture or the floor.  Sometimes he startles himself with his own naughtiness.

This scream most often happens when he tries to squeak out an open door and I catch him before he escapes.

He is magnetically attracted to the toilet bowl water.

He is also magnetically attracted to danger.  In one week, he got a goose-egg on his forehead, ran into the road with on-coming traffic, exploded a firecracker in his mouth, tried to eat a dishwasher pod and nearly made it out the window onto our porch roof.  And YES, I *DO* watch him every minute.  It's the seconds that are the problem.

He has the CUTEST, dopiest look on his face sometimes.  Seriously adorable.

He doesn't ever snuggle anymore unless I am nursing him- and sadly, I have very little milk at this point... the other day he got done one side and signed to me that the milk was 'all gone' on that side.  It was hilarious. 

He has several different little songs I made up for him, but sometimes his name is so musical, it comes out in song.  Every time he hears that 'Mister Moses" song, he starts dancing.

He loves 'helping Papa' with washing the milking equipment by handing up the tiniest piece of the machine.  Same piece, same time, every morning.

Cherry tomatoes were his favorite food all summer- and now that we got several bushels of apples, he has turned to apples.

He is my insufferably sweet  Little Mister and I can't wait to see what this new year brings with it!

Check out the video on my Instagram of him being all cute and sleepy.  

If that doesn't melt you into a puddle, you must be a cold-hearted scoundrel.

He's a Comin' For Ya

First Food

As if his thighs weren't chubby enough...

TBT: The Big Belly

I am a lot better at posting Throw Back Thursday pictures on Friday, apparently.

Being late seems to be how I roll.  But- I am getting more caught up on posting outdated photos every week, regardless if they come on a Thursday or Friday...sooooo... it's all good.

The week before Cricket was to arrive, Matt and celebrated our 17th anniversary. 

I remember that Sunday feeling like I had nothing to wear to church so I put together this ensemble and asked Matt if it 'worked'.  He cocked his head, raised his eyebrows and said "ummmm.... I don't think so."  And I said "Well, I guess that's too bad then, isn't it!"

What an adventure those 17 years have been.  What an adventure to come!

Matt brought me home flowers on the way home from work for our anniversary.  From a magical someplace that he wouldn't tell.  I think it must have been from a roadside stand because the variety was too lovely to be of the grocery store variety.    The prettiest flowers I've ever been given...it reminded me of an actual wedding bouquet.

Two days before Cricket  became a Moses, I took this picture, knowing it may be the last time I would get the pleasure of a large baby belly.  One cannot take these things for granted.

Also- does grass get that green?  Do herbs flow out of stone patios?  

Green days are coming!

Babies Make Things Better

The world has gone mad!  This corona virus pandemic is insane.  Children are out of schools now while businesses are opening up and gathering them up together in a different location in order to feed them lunches in case they have no food.    There is no hand sanitizer left in stores because people have bought it all out but have no need of it because government has required many businesses to shut down or implement "soft quarantines".   People without babies are emptying shelves of baby formula in order to sell it in the black market while babies- who DEPEND ON THIS FOR SURVIVAL- may have to go without?!?!  Churches are refusing to gather.  People aren't allowed to travel over state lines?  And what does everyone do in their spare time?  Make toilet paper memes and wonder about what they will do with themselves.  People are PANICKED.  Things are intense.

Frankly, I'm conflicted.  And maybe scratching my head a little bit too.  Do I not know something?  If you look at the numbers, the regular flu has a much higher death rate than the corona virus.  I am not saying the Corona Virus is not a big deal...but I am saying people need to CHILL OUT A BIT.  Media outlets are feeding the frenzy and we are letting them.  And all of a sudden, we are living in a totalitarian government that dictates to us how we must live.  I'm calling a foul.  

Also- let's not forget: (You KNOW I have to say it!): Corona Virus has had 7, 098 fatalities worldwide since December 2019.  Abortion has led to 125,000 fatalities worldwide EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.    On the abortion link, you literally see that number moving up every second.  You literally SEE death happening, in real time.  Where is the panic there?  Where is the intensity to prevent deaths?  Where is the FRENZY people?!

 I know that this whole Corona madness is going to have serious implications in every single sector of business and life for many months to come.  It is hard to foresee how this is going to play out in the long run.  The whole world has come to a screeching halt over this corona virus and frankly, I wonder if the effects of all this business shut-down will have more serious consequences than the actual illness for the American people.  

While the world screeches to a halt, what will we do?  We will continue to live as we live every day.   I will continue to make food from scratch to feed my family, using the food I have on hand.  We will continue to get as much sunshine as these March days allow.  We will continue to wash hands and live life.  We will continue to educate our children at home and go about the work that needs to be done every day.  We will continue to squeeze in the pleasantries that can fill the cracks around the edges but probably not find more cracks to fill because this whole 'self quarantine' thing looks a lot like how we do life anyway.

The other thing we will be doing is praying for those people who are struggling during this time...

Not just those who are sick, but for those who are sick and those who, if sick, will have a more difficult time than others.

For those who are...

out of work

not getting paid

and all the repercussions that those two things entail ( ie *A HECKUVA LOT*)

wondering what to do with the children/grandchildren who don't have sitters and don't have school either

unable to get groceries 

unable to worship

unable to feed their families or get necessities

unable to get surgeries

unable to fulfill obligations or activities they had looked forward to

who are stressed and scared and wondering what they are going to DO.

And also for those who have so many things TO DO- whose jobs are not on pause but on fast forward- nurses, doctors, etc.

There are many people in need of prayer.

I'll leave you with this quote from an essay C.S.Lewis wrote in 1948 called "Living In the Atomic Age" that I have been reflecting on...it really does apply.

"In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.”

In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors – anaesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.

This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts – not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.ng sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts – not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.

He then goes on to compare the Christian view versus the naturalist view, and then concludes the essay this way:

It is part of our spiritual law never to put survival first: not even the survival of our species. We must resolutely train ourselves to feel that the survival of Man on this Earth, much more of our own nation or culture or class, is not worth having unless it can be had by honourable and merciful means.

The sacrifice is not so great as it seems. Nothing is more likely to destroy a species or a nation than a determination to survive at all costs. Those who care for something else more than civilization are the only people by whom civilization is at all likely to be preserved. Those who want Heaven most have served Earth best. Those who love Man less than God do most for Man.

And since there is nothing more uplifting to the spirits than a chubby baby.... I give you these:

Just doing my part in helping the morale.  (you're welcome.)

These Lips Get Me Every Time

At the Hospital

The hospital stay at Moses' birth was not a stellar experience- mainly because of crossed wires when it came to discharge that resulted in my entire family being trapped in a small hospital room for about 6 hours straight with frazzled nerves and antsy pants all around (or maybe just me?!).  I felt like a caged bird and wanted nothing more than to gettheheckouttatherewithmypeeps and eat some real food.

But stay, we had to.  The up-side to it was lots of visitors.  And a bouquet of flowers from my Mister! 

I'd like to erase those last six hours from my memory entirely, but before that there were a few things I'd like not to forget.

#1. Moses is the first child of mine that has been wide-eyed and curious from the get-go.  Moments after birth he opened his eyes and didn't shut them for an impossibly long time.  Hours, maybe?  Maybe I was in a fog- but it really did seem like hours.  And he would follow people around with his eyes.  

This was new for us.  Most of my children have only opened their eyes cracks when you shielded them from light and then, only for a moment before falling asleep again.

#2  How did I forget how amazingly soft and squidgy and warm and silky and PERFECT freshly born baby skin is?  One of the best feelings IN.THE.WORLD.  I have often thought of bottling up sunshine for winter...but if I could bottle anything at all, it would be the feeling of fresh baby perfection. 

#3.  Hospital rooms are in desperate need of flowers.  So are postpartum women.

#4 When Ineke saw the baby for the first time, she covered her mouth, crinkled her nose and eyes and kept exclaiming "He's sooooo CUTE!  He's sooooo cuuuuuuuuutteeeee!"  Some things, photos just don't capture well.  I wish I had a video of it.

#5  I have always noticed when a new baby comes that the displaced 'baby' of the family all of a sudden seems not like a baby at all.  I never knew that something similar happens to bigger brothers.  Overnight, he turned from big boy to almost manly?!?! SERIOUSLY.  NOT okay.

Always observant, Moses follows everyone around with his eyes.

#6  I think it is so ironic (and hilarious) how exhausted Matt looks after I push a baby out.  Looking back in pictures, I am always so bright eyed and bushy tailed after having a baby and he is always catching some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's. 

#7... Moses- you are clearly not impressed about it now, but I am telling you- it is pretty awesome to have grandparents that sit on each others' laps.  You'll understand someday.

#8 Matt and Moses have an uncannily squished scowl...

...and happen to be some of the handsomest guys I know.

The girl in the back ain't so bad, either.

#9 SOMEONE wasn't super impressed that not ONLY did I get a bonnet crocheted for a coming home outfit- but matching booties and a sweater to boot!  Some people are SO hard to please.

#10 I hate red tape and hospital silliness like being pushed to your car in a wheelchair with a cumbersome baby seat perched on your lap.  The whole thing is stupid if you ask me and makes a girl feel pretty stupid too.  I hate this picture for that reason and others. (Ahem- man calves. double chin.)   But I love it because of the girl holding my hand.  Ineke started bawling when she saw me get in the wheelchair because she thought that I was sick and that I was going somewhere else, away from her.  Only after she got to hold my hand to be sure I didn't get away was she willing to stop crying.  She held it the whole way to the van.  Andrew, meanwhile, ran ahead and took about 30 unflattering photos of me in said stupid wheelchair. 

#11 When nurses who push wheelchairs see vans this large- they actually laugh in disbelief.  I didn't tell her that me finally being a part of the BIG VAN club makes me very, very happy.  That probably would have made her laugh even more.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

Some lucky (smart?!) people got to meet Moses on a gorgeous day in the comfort of our own front porch instead of a hospital room. 

I let them hold Moses in exchange for a big pan of ravioli that (blame it on postpartum hormones or just how good it was) I actually cried over...  Who got the better end of the bargain, I wonder?