The big 0-3!

Today S turned 3 years old. It seems like just yesterday I was driving my car on the way back from the OB's office, several days past my due date, crying to myself thinking that my body was once again malfunctioning and an induced labor was again looming over the horizon. Although my body knew exactly how to grow a baby from scratch and carry it solidly for 9+ months, I had little confidence that it knew how to get that baby out. I didn't want to be induced again and have another experience like I did with my first baby, but time was running out.

A mere six days and 15 hours after my due date, S arrived, no induction necessary. He was beautiful and healthy and almost immediately he was calm. I marveled at how a newborn could be awake and yet not cry, how he seem satisfied between meals and slept peacefully and deep. I gone to the hospital full of worry and anxious thoughts, and returned home so at peace with my sweet, relaxed boy.

That's been S from day one: going with the flow of life, always up for a good time, rarely requesting attention for himself. As a baby he would go to anyone who held out their arms. He smiled at strangers and would barely glance up when I dropped him off in the nursery on Sundays, yet he'd smile and run, arms open to embrace me when I returned.

He's more volatile now like many older toddlers. He has an occasionally temper tantrum and picks on his sister. He does not always pay attention and pouts when things don't go his way. Yet he's still always game for a hug, he requests kisses from his mama, he plays quietly by himself for long periods of time, he is the first to run and greet his daddy when he comes home from work, and when he comes out of his bedroom each morning, his first words are always "Good morning, Mama!" (Okay, sometimes his first words are "Mama, I want waffle!" but usually the "Good morning..." comes first.)

I am so excited to see what this year brings to my deeply affectionate, alphabet-obsessed, sports and train-loving boy.

Happy 3rd Birthday S, Mama loves you.

Beautiful - Inside and Out