Happy Birthday Xander!

Well, I made it through Xander's 1st birthday without any tears at all! I just can't go to bed without writing down the stuff rolling around in my mind.

I made Xander waffles for breakfast. He loved them. We played around the house for most of the morning. Eli had a blast singing Happy Birthday to him most of the day. When Brandon woke up (he is back on nights now) we had a little birthday lunch with cake. Xander made a spectacular mess of himself, his cake, and the kitchen. He is quite talented in this category! After Brandon went to work we went and got the tires rotated and balanced. Both of the boys loved this! Not what you would normally think of as high entertainment, but who am I to judge? We went for a little walk this evening and played at the park for a bit, and then wound down for bed.

What an amazing and wonderful thing to be able to look at these little people and see how they grow! I have such sweet memories of both my boys' actual birth-days. It was such a powerful and awesome experience to bring two little lives into this world, to hold their brand new little bodies, to snuggle them tight, to deeply inhale that sweet, new baby smell, to hold them in my arms and feel their little twitches and movements and remember what they felt like when they were in my tummy (not to mention being to be able to eat and breathe again!!!). There just aren't words to describe the depth of these experiences.

I feel so very blessed to be a mom to these two little men! Their spirits are so incredible! I have learned so much from them and have grown so much. It is so true when people say 'Motherhood is not for wimps!' It really isn't. I have been tried far beyond anything I thought I could possibly endure, but you know, I am really loving the person I am becoming as a result of being tutored by these two little people. They really are the teachers in this relationship. They continuously offer me opportunities to grow and develop myself in ways I would never be able to attain without them.

Happy Birthday Xander!!! We love you so dang much!

I will post pictures later. We are going to Pocatello for a family party this weekend.