We had a joint party with his BFF who shares the same birthday. She is a doll! Her mom and I had it at a playcenter so there were tons of toys and things for the kids to do. There were plenty of outdoor things as well, but it happened to be quite cold and rainy. The food and cake were a hit and kept kids busy when they weren't playing. It was quite the hit and we were thrilled that the party went so well.
I feel as if Julian became a boy overnight. They change so fast in the first year and then this past year I could just see the baby melting away and get glimpses of what kind of kid he'll look like. Well, my baby is talking in full sentences, uses please, thank you, and no thank you, in almost every sentence, rides a scooter (3 wheels...ha!), and is just growing into a boy.
I'm getting to the point where I think he's so smart that I'm afraid he's going to be putting me in my place soon. The kid is way smarter than me, he just doesn't have the experience to back it yet. He remembers EVERYTHING. He's a mini-Dan. He tells me stories and it takes me forever to figure out what book, cartoon, etc. it came from even though I read/saw the same thing. He describes in detail his favorite things which are horses, other farm animals, and the new found hedgehogs in our back yard. William Tells Overture is still a must play (at least 3 times) every day and I get so tired of hearing, "mommy, please play the horsey race song. Mommy, mommy, William Tell Overture please." Why do I get tired of something that is so cute? I just want to eat him up, but in the moment, I want to tackle him and say, "no horsey race song." ha ha!
Really boring part:
His schedule is quite weird now. We're adopting Kiwi habits. We eat breakfast between 7-8. Then we have "morning tea" at 10:30ish which is either the rest of his cereal that he didn't eat at 8 or toast with something and a cup of yogurt. Then he sleeps for 2 hours around 11:30 or noon. He'll wake and then we eat lunch at 2:30ish. Dan comes home around 4 or 5ish and is starving while J and I aren't very hungry, but we snack. Then J and I eat at 6:30ish while Dan snacks.
While Dan was gone I put J to bed between 6:30 and 7. He was getting up between 4-6 every morning so Dan really pushed to put him to bed at 7:30 or 8. Then we had "fall back" for daylight savings, so 8 was the new bedtime. I missed my evenings to myself or with Dan. Since J has been sick on and off and with daylight savings, he's been up at 3:30 or 4 every morning and the Gro Clock isn't working for him. I can't reason with him in the middle of the night. I'm over it and we explained to him all day today that he's going to have to stay in his cot (crib) until his sun shines on his clock. I changed it from 6 to 5:30 am. He's then allowed to come to mommy and daddy's bed to snuggle. We'll see how it works. Once he gets used to that and possibly throws some fits, and hopefully doesn't learn that he can try to climb out of the cot, we'll start moving the time to 6 and later and later and hopefully the afternoon nap (which I love) will get shorter so he sleeps better at night. The poor guy just can't get it right. It so hard with the weather too. It's finally dark, but it's much colder so we are constantly working on heating to figure out the perfect sleeping temperature for him. I have to pick the perfect pjs for him to wear since he doesn't keep his blankets on because it's about 61-62 degrees with our heat pump. He used to wear socks but those are not tolerated anymore. I can agree with that; I get nightmares when I wear socks to bed no matter what the temperature is. Anyway, we'll figure it out and then something new will change it :)
(Update from writing this 2 days ago: He's been calling us in and we'll come to him but tell him he can't come to our bed until the sun shines on his clock. He'll fall asleep for 20-30 min and cry and we let him be until he falls asleep. He then calls us when his sun shines. It's so tiring, but working).
Stats: 28-29 lbs, 36" (I think), size 2 clothes (and growing fast), and his feet have exploded in size. He wears a size 7. I think he's a 6.5 but his feet are still chunky and his nike shoes (size 7), that I got for $.50 at a garage sale in the States, were digging into his chub.
Have I mentioned that Julian is a gem already? ha ha. It's just amazing how much I love the little guy. Despite being tired and having a hard time getting organized when he wants to play and spill toys all over (even though he picks them up), I am trying to enjoy my last moments with it being just the two of us. I know this baby will change things...mostly for the good, but even challenging changes are life transforming and that is a great thing. I am embracing it all...well, I remind myself to keep doing it. Yes, the tv has been on more in the last couple of weeks than in his whole life, but I still try to get down on his level and really communicate with him. It's hard (not just because I'm 36 weeks pregnant).
Julian has been a lot of work in these past 2 years. I wouldn't trade it for anything. That took me 15 months to say, but I mean it now, he's been worth it all. It's going fast. I know it will only get faster and I want to cherish every moment. I don't want to look back and say (which I have already), "I wish I would have: cuddled him in that moment, or not been so caught up on that rule, or watched my tone, or gotten off my computer/phone and been 100% with him." I use the excuse that I have my computer open all day because it's how we stay in contact with family and friends (which is totally true), but the days that we're so busy and I haven't checked my phone or computer are some of the best bonding moments between us both. We'll figure out this life cycle together, but hopefully without too many regrets.
I must end with thanking Jesus for his wonderful grace. I was not a natural mother but I'm blossoming into Julian's mommy. Julian's sensitive heart and sympathy for others is going to teach me a lot. His newly forming prayers for others is so touching. Jesus does love children in a unique way and I know he reveals himself to them that can teach us adults a thing or two. I can't wait to learn more about God through Julian. I have so many proud mommy moments but was shocked and awed when he recapped the story of Noah to his children's church class (Noah obeyed! He built a big boat and animals were on it, it rained and everyone was safe on the boat, there was a rainbow high in the sky, Noah obeys and Julian obeys mommy and daddy.) We love to act out the battle of Jericho and I have to get more creative about more bible stories because he loves it.
Sweet, sensitive, kind hearted Julian. What an amazing ride you've taken me on so far. I can't wait to see where we're off to next!
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