Welcome to our blog!

After some contemplation this weekend, I have decided to start a blog about Josiah’s development and life as a mom. It took me some time to settle on this decision because I fear the blog becoming a replacement for communication rather than an enhancement to it. My hope is that through this I will be able to actually share the precious day to day jewels of life with Josiah as he grows with those that I love and that love him so much. So, these are the things that led me to this decision 1)I want to be able to treasure the small things and I find myself frustrated at handwriting because my thoughts dictate much faster than my hand can write. I have been keeping a journal for Josiah since the day we found out I was pregnant, and I intend to continue to do so, but I wanted to be able to supplement those entries with these. 2) I can readily share pictures and videos of Josiah with our family members that don’t get to see him often, and most importantly, 3) I hope that those reading will benefit from sharing in the joys of discovering this big world through the eyes of a baby with me.

That being said…

I am constantly amazed at how quickly Josiah is learning how to interact in this world. It’s as if he is learning new party tricks while I sleep (or at least pretend to). This week he has been learning to hold objects in his hand, though he shakes them around without understanding that he owns that flailing hand. He is, however, swatting at his toys and learning that he can make his giraffe rattle. What I find hilarious is how I think, “This kid must be a genius!” after he performs such simple tasks as swatting at a toy dangling in front of him. Little do I realize that EVERY HUMAN ON THIS EARTH (with arms and without neuromuscular limitations) can do the exact same thing. However, THIS kid must be advanced for performing such unique skills. I think every parent goes through this. You think, “Wow, certainly he is too young for such things.” Then, you go to the parenting book that tells you your child is doing exactly what every other baby his age is doing. You frown in contemplation at the book, and then you resolve, “Well, regardless of what this book says, he really is above average,” because it is too baffling to believe that such a small baby could have so much comprehension. That, and, let’s face it, everybody wants a smart kid.

He is becoming much more interactive with us, mimicking the faces that we make and cooing with delight when we play his favorite tummy kiss games. Last night he squealed in delight for the first time, and I thought I was going to fall over out of joy and surprise. He is discovering all of the possibilities his own voice holds, and when he talks to us with convincing intentionality, we know he must be saying something (and then we laugh because it sounds hilarious).

I have been grappling with the heartbreak of going back to work in two weeks, and it’s times like those, or the ones where my mere proximity quiets his cries, that melt any growth in my strength to leave. I don’t want him to miss me, but I think I more fear what I will miss myself. After 9 months in my womb and 3 months of around the clock nurturing and devotion to this little creature, he very much feels like a part of me. I think he is slowly learning he is not (but is probably still convinced my breasts really do belong to him). I am sure that there will be a lengthy post about the inevitable transitions to come as we both discover what it is like to grow and learn about this world apart from each other after a year of constant companionship.

On a lighter note: Josiah has been smiling for, oh, 7 weeks now, and even though we have endless pictures of him, we have yet to capture his smile on camera. Every time I pull the camera out he becomes pensive and looks at me as if he is saying, “what?” when I tickle him and make every goofy face and noise possible to coax out that smile. If the camera is away all of those tactics work very well. As soon as that big black thing is looming, I just get a stare. I am hoping that next week Callie Murray will be able to work her magic and catch it. She is going to be taking some 3 month pictures of him, and I am sure I will be sharing them on here soon after.

There is so much more I want to say, especially after discovering that I can actually get most of my thoughts down in a timely matter with the keyboard rather than my hand, but for now, I will call it quits because no one wants to reads a 20 page blog (and the boys are napping together and three is company!)