Your mom on my half birthday.

After Hudson was born I would ask my mom about my life as a baby. Was I a good sleeper, what was my first word, how old was I when I walked, did I have a favorite food. More often then not her answer was “I don’t remember.” And the other times I think she made something up. So I decided that I would write letters to my children marking their milestones and give them an idea about what kind of babies they were. I have done this since Hudson was born. Every 3 or 6 months whenever I find some quiet time. I will write to them and include a picture of what they looked like at that age.

Then I happened upon Julie’s blog and something hit me. What would my boys remember about ME…..besides the fact that I wrote letters and took a lot of pictures. What would they remember about the times we spent together, the silly games we played and dance offs we had. If I am honest they would not…and if I am equally as honest I might forget as time goes on as well. So now the new update to “My life as a Mother.” And I like the fact that I only do this once a year. Since my birthday is not until May I am writing this first letter as my 34 ½ birthday approaches.

Dear Boys I am sure that there are many things about me at 34 ½ that you won’t remember. You will probably remember me at 45 but not the me now. I know this because I don’t remember much about my mom when I was 3 or 2. And even though you won’t actually remember the kind of mom I am now or the things we do together I thought I would at least give you a visual. And hopefully when you have your own children you will look at their faces and see yourself as children and mine in yours. You are too young to know it but each day with you is precious. So here I am. Your mom at 34 ½. What we did on rainy days and how much fun we could have with a cardboard box. - First and foremost we dance. A LOT. I love to dance and sing and quite frankly you guys make the best audience. I can do no wrong in your eyes and I love it. - Dylan you are an early bird and I am not. Lately I have been turning on Dora, giving you some milk and sneaking back to bed for another 20 minutes of sleep. Thanks Dora - Hudson you can be a little cranky but if I offer you a white powdered donut you snap right out of it and will do just about anything. - You both treat me like a jungle gym and as much as I pretend to be hurt and beg you to stop I love it. - I don’t eat red meat but never once thought about not letting you choose. Hudson you love your steaks and hamburgers and Dylan you wake from a nap calling for meatballs. - We sing songs in the car. Again refer to the first point. I have a bad singing voice but you don’t care. It rocks. - You both love bath time. We have a little routine. Bath, vitamins, milk, brush teeth then books and bed. You also get 5 minutes of naked time after the bath. What is it with kids loving to be naked? -Sometimes bed time is later then I like but I love this time with you. I love to read to you and have you fall asleep in my arms. O – and we all fall asleep in the same bed. - I have adjusted Simon Says to “Mommy Says” when we are standing in line at Target (and we are there a lot) to make the time go smoother. - You are both great at helping around the house. I get you to dust and wipe the floors. You see you are closer to the ground so it is better on your back then mine. Dylan you even put the paper towel under your foot and push it around just like me. - Hudson you love gum but clearly Dylan is too young. We fool him by giving him “gummy” vitamins. Sorry buddy maybe next year. - Lunch is usually Mac N Cheese, PB & J, or Chicken nuggets. I often wonder if someone can live off these things but have given up trying anything new. But only for the time being. - Hudson I always ask if you want salsa on your eggs and love it when you say yes. It means there is a Mexican in you somewhere. - There is a “bumpy” hill on our street and we could spend hours going up and down it in the car. You both laugh so hard. It is the best sound in the world. - Hudson we do puzzles all the time. - My warm meals are few and far between but your’s always is. - I confess I am an “order” freak. Everything has a place. Ask your daddy about my OCD one day. - You both make me laugh more then I thought possible. -Hudson I love all your drawings. I keep them in a folder. The plan is the take pictures each year and put in a book for you but I am sure I will just end up keeping them. - My favorite holiday is Halloween and I love dressing up with you. My second favorite is 4th of July and we dress up for that too. - I don’t get much alone time with each of you but I try. Dylan I love to take you to the pizza shop and Hudson you are the best at running errands with me. You each get something you like out of the deal….Dylan pizza and Hudson a toy. - I am a working mom and it is hard for me to leave you. The older you get the later I am at getting to work. There is always one more kiss to give or one more hug to get. O – and this is the order Kiss – Hug – High Five - I am not a huge fan of the zoo but we became members and go a lot because you both love it. - Hudson you started school this year and you love it. Which makes me happy because I loved school as well. Things could change but for now I can dream. - I am not good with Legos or story telling. But what I lack in imagination I try to make up for in other areas. I am great at putting your Transformers together and one day I will teach you to horseback ride. - During the holiday months we take drives around the neighborhood to look at all the lights. Some people really go all out in our block and it is fun to listen to your exclamations. Hudson you crank me up when you say “I just don’t believe what I am seeing. How do they do it?” - I would do anything in the world for you. - I always give you one last kiss each night and whisper I love you. So there is it the simple and not so simple things that happen during our days. I never knew that I would love being a mom so much. Every Monday brings a little sadness knowing that there will be hours I am away from you. But I know that there will be more memories made as well. They are all dear to me because it is our life….our family….and it is perfect I love you to the moon and back. Love, your mother XOXO