Joshua with Aunt Miranda and Uncle Zeke
Our au pair, Nuwee, left a few weeks ago and I’ve cut back my hours at work so I can stay home with Joshua. It’s been amazing. I cherish every moment of every day that I get to spend with my little one.
He’s 13 months now and little miracles are happening every day.
He pushes his John Deere tractor around, laughing merrily as he chases Ellie and Lacie around the kitchen…
When I ask for a hug, he gently leans his head against my chest, waiting for me to wrap my arms around him…
I ask him if he wants a bottle, and he looks at me with excitement and exclaims: “ba!” …
When he finishes drinking a bottle, he grins happily, then turns to me with his mouth wide open (his best effort at offering a kiss)…
He toddles over to the bookshelf and picks out a book, carries it to me, and situates himself on my lap, waiting expectantly for me to read to him, telling him when it’s time for him to turn the page, and asking him what the doggie says (to which he responds “ruff!”)…
He loves to climb up and down the concrete slab of the front stoop, and although he can easily maneuver his way onto the stoop, he knows it’s too steep to step off by himself. So he makes his way to the edge, turns to look up at me, and reaches for my hand to help guide him off…
I offer him a graham cracker, and he grunts his insistence on having one for each hand. He then gives a bite of one cracker to Ellie, and a bite of the other cracker to Lacie, indulging in the leftovers himself. But if I give a dog bone to one of the girls, he gladly makes the trade - offering them the cracker so he can gnaw on the dog bone. Lacie thinks that’s a great deal…
These are such small things that give me such great joy. Being a mom is the greatest blessing imaginable.
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