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Hello! Can you believe it’s been over a month since I last had a real chat with you all!? Where does the time go!? This is a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, since my baby turned 1 on Tuesday! I don’t even knoooooow how that’s possible.
We had such a nice day celebrating Walter’s birthday with my Mom, who drove the hour and a half to visit with us (thanks Mom!!). We went shopping, strolled around the neighbourhood and we all had naps in the afternoon. Well, except for me…I just CAN’T nap. It’s a curse!
Etienne’s parents joined us for dinner. I made Wally his very own smash cake (recipe to come) and these super cute cupcakes for the rest of us. I chose Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar as the theme because Wally IS the very hungry caterpillar…you all know that book…”….and he was STILL hungry”!?
Wally turning 1 made me stop and reflect on this past year. I love my little dude with all my heart, but MAN he was not an easy baby. The first 6 months of his life were definitely some of my hardest. Having 2 kids is a game changer. My life went from having 1 pretty easy-going toddler to having 1 much needier toddler and 1 very high-needs baby. At the same time. All the time. I was not prepared!
Oscar had his challenges, but all in all he wasn’t the worst when it comes to newborns. When I was pregnant with Walter, I was pretty confident that things would just come naturally to me and the newborn phase wouldn’t be nearly as challenging as it was the first time. This was before I understood just how very different babies can be. Oooh so VERY different.
I won’t bore you with my sob story but all you really need to know is that I didn’t sleep for months. I would literally go days at a time with zero sleep. I remember at one point asking Etienne, “can you actually die from lack of sleep”? I was truly worried.
The nights were long, and the days were longer. Wally was not one of those babies who would just fall asleep in the stroller, or on the floor, or while strolling through the mall. He needed to be bounced, or swung, or nursed, constantly. I would see those moms with their babies who were sleeping contently in the car seat while they ran their errands, and want to cry. I was a hot mess, to say the least.
But, as most things do, with the grace of time, it all got easier. Wally began sleeping better, and Oscar stopped trying to attack his little brother with his Hot Wheels. I will forever be grateful to my family and friends who were by my side, providing me with words of encouragement, hot meals and hot coffee. You know who you are. THANK you.
Nowadays, seeing my two boys interact gives me more joy than I could have ever imagined. I can say with 100% truth that those sleepless nights and anxiety-ridden days were SO worth it.
These days, when I see another Mom with a small baby strapped to her chest and a bouncing toddler in a shopping cart, I just want to run over and give her a hug. Or at least a coffee. This article from Scary Mommy totally spoke to me. If you’ve been through it, or are about to go through it, I recommend reading it.
So, now it’s summer, and I made it through that first year. Things are looking good! I can’t wait to enjoy this warmer weather with my two little peanuts. Do you have any summer plans? So far, we have nothing planned and I’m quite ok with that. I’ll save “traveling with small children” for another chapter….
Happy Birthday Wally. Thanks to you, I am a lot more patient than I was last year, and a little more wise.
Cheers to a very happy summer for you all!!
Cuter than cute pictures of the birthday party! The cakes, the boys, your blog…it’s all the best! Thanks for sharing. It is really nice for me to re-connect with you and your life💞
Thank you so much Aunt Linda! I’m so glad you’re following along. The internet sure does make keeping up a relationship easier 🙂
Oh my! Walter is adorable Katherine! And it looks like he enjoyed his cakes! So fun!
Thank you so much Mary Ann! He definitely enjoyed stuffing his little face on his birthday haha.
Oh my goodness! Such a cutie pie!!! I can tell that you’ve definitely learned a lot (and lost a lot of sleep) this past year, but I can imagine how it is all worth it! Looks like the cupcakes were well enjoyed 😉 Have a wonderful weekend, Katherine!
Thank you Dawn!! He is such a sweet little munchkin. I have absolutely learned a lot – and lost a lot of sleep haha. The cupcakes were a hit! I hope you have a great weekend too my friend and you have some nice hot weather!! XO
You have two serious cutie pies, Katherine! I’m so glad Wally is sleeping; I don’t have children but I do have insomnia–I can’t even imagine taking care of two kids without any sleep. It’s hard enough to take care of yourself when you aren’t sleeping! And that caterpillar cake is just amazing! AMAZING! You’re so talented! Have a wonderful weekend, my friend 🙂
Thank you SO much Kelsie! UGH insomnia is terrible, I’m so sorry for you. I’ve experienced it and it’s the worst! It’s crazy what lack of sleep does to the body! You are so sweet. Thank you for your kind words!! Take care little lady!
Awww! Love this! I don’t have little ones of my own but my little nieces can run me ragged!! So I firmly believe that being a mom is the HARDEST job in the world! Kudos to all the moms out there! Love the Hungry Catepillar cake and the picture of you two 🙂 so sweet!!! Have a great weekend! Xoxo
This is so sweet of you to say. Kids are exhausting! My sister has 4 little girls and I don’t know how she does it. Thank you so much for the kind words. XOXO