Happy Birthday Aaron David!

Aaron two weeks old

Aaron 6 months old


Aaron 1 year old

Aaron 18 months old

Aaron 2 years old (minus a few days!)

My baby, the youngest in my perfect little family, turned 2 today! I have mixed emotions about this. My first emotion is one of great joy. He's made it a long way, through lots of scares and not so fun times...here he is, two years old! He also gets a little easier the older he gets. Every few months I think back (or look back at my previous blog posts) and notice that slowly but surely, he is getting easier. This week, he suddenly started speaking more than ever...out of the blue, just when we were getting ready to add more speech sessions to his therapy that he currently gets. What is he saying? Well, all the things he could already say, but he's initiating it. He's not just saying what we ask him to say, or copying what I say. He wakes up and say, "hi mommy". He sees charlie and says, "hi charlie" or "bye charlie". He says, "see truck/light/fan/doggy/charlie/mommy/daddy" All of this speech makes me so happy because he is actually trying to communicate with us! His eating is still not stellar but he/we are managing ok with it. His tantrums are less...partly due to his increased awareness of how to actually get what he wants, his better speech, and our handling it better thanks to a few books I am reading.

The other part of me is sad. Sad that I no longer have a baby in the house. I have a toddler and a 5 year old, but no babies! He's getting bigger, doing more, and before I know it, he'll be 5. Time is flying and I feel bad that I kept wishing Aaron would get older, get past the "tough" ages (he had many!). I knew at some point I would sit back and feel badly that I wanted him to hurry up and become less needy. But, here we are, he's 2 and still needy, but not as hard as he was when he wasn't growing well, had terrible reflux, was hospitalized, was being tested for genetic problems, etc, etc. Now he's this beautiful little 2 year old who LOVES trucks and his older brother and his blanket!

He has taught me alot about myself, about what i can handle, and what being a mom is really about. I have never felt the "mother bear/protect your cub" instinct the way I have with Aaron. I have literally dropped everything and rushed him to the hospital. I have stayed up with him many nights snuggling, rocking, wishing him back to sleep. I have cried for him, laughed at him, and screamed at the top of my lungs aout him. He was given to me for a reason. Just when I think I'm not doing it right, or that I can't make it better for him, he runs up to me and gives me a hug and says, "hi dare mommy". He melts me like no other. I love you Aaron David!!!!