i was recovering from 35 weeks of nausea, vomitting, heart burn; two weeks of inexplicable water retention and weight gain (23 pounds in 10 days ... yikes); 20 hours of relentless contractions; and one hour of pushing. and i was holding my perfect little nine-pound newborn son.
i thought time had sped up. in a blink, he was six months, a year, 18 months ...
and before i knew it, he was in preschool. then real school. then his sister was born.
and suddenly ... he's 12.
and my 9 lb, 21.5" baby is now 5'7", 114 lbs, and the next time i take him shoe shopping i know we'll be buying size 11s.
where did the time go?
to be fair, he's still my baby. he came over to me yesterday afternoon and said, "mom, i have something for you." then he wrapped those long, skinny arms around me and melted into a snuggle.
oh. my.
best birthday present ever, my boy giving ME a hug and then staying for more.
he's such a good kid.
to celebrate his big day, we watched him swim in a meet in wisconsin. (i know ... party! woot!) he did a good job, considering it was his first REAL meet against REAL other teams in a REAL setting, not his home pool. his first two races, he was in the final heats and did a great job. his last race ... well ... he lost his goggles during the start and sort of whiffed the rest of the race.
oh well.
you win some, you lose some.
we headed home after lunch, everyone got a little rest, then henry opened his gifts: hoodies, books, a bible, and, from, us, portal bookends. oh yeah.
then a sitter came over to be with harper, and marc and i took henry to stella's fish cafe in uptown for a steak, then to comedy sportz for a show. henry has really gotten into comedy lately - funny shows, comedians, silly things floating around the internet - so i knew this show would be perfect. and i would much rather give my kids experiences than stuff. we all loved the show, and can't wait to go again. henry even threw out a suggestion that was selected by the referee for an improv challenge (the actletes were to imagine themselves in a situation where they would be surrounded by people, and what they would say to put their foot in their mouth. henry's suggested situation? health class. so funny.), which pleased him greatly.
today, apparently, the birthday celebration continues ... he and marc are on the couch, headsets on, controllers in hand, linked up with uncle matt in indiana, playing call of duty. for the rest of the day.
because, now that he's twelve, he does what the big boys do.
but he still gives his mom a hug.
and that's as it should be.
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