Just. This. This moment. And I am so in love. Pure unconditional undeniable love with my baby boy. It makes my heart full, it makes my heart burst and makes my soul calm all at once. I remember this night and I had no idea my husband captured this photo until we were going through everything on the camera which was more than 1,000 images mind you. (I kid you not.) When we came across this photo I was mesmerized. My baby was so small. So content. His little hands curled and relaxed held safe in my arms. This moment captures a feeling I pray I never forget. One of solitude, of peace and of being a new mom. This little man that I carried for nearly 9 months and gave birth to while I was so scared to be responsible for a new life and so excited all at the same time, well, he became my world within a split second. The moment I saw his face, his ten tiny toes and his little hands, I realized I never knew a love quite like the one I was looking at. It literally hit me like a ton of bricks. So much emotion just washes over you. You can’t even capture the feelings in words because it’s all so overwhelming. It is true love and that’s the only way I can put it. Every time I look at this photo, all my stress, every problem running through my mind just seems to go away and I am once again reminded that this is the most important job I will ever have.
Even though my little man is my everything, we wouldn’t be the family we are today without my husband. He is the love of my life and can’t imagine it without him. We did everything a bit backwards if you base It on the traditional sort of way. We were friends first, then dated, then became a couple, bought a house, had our precious baby boy, got married when our son was two and now we are living out our happily ever after. But no matter how the order happened, this little man was us. This new little baby boy brought an instant smile to our faces and to so many that love us. He bonded and sealed our family into a future that I am so blessed to have and ever since then, I embrace each day that brings us forward as a family. Each day we all discover something new and to see it through his eyes is amazing. Like the first time our son noticed the suns shadows in our home, I caught him slowly moving his hand back and forth between the shadow and the light. He was so mesmerized as he discovered the difference between dark and light. You could literally see his brain working. It was such an incredible moment to witness. Even better…I captured it on my cell phone. Thank God for great cell phone cameras! I cherish this photo as it has so much meaning to me and seeing it takes me back to this time. Sigh… And, while we’re on the topic of discovery...
The first time he ever noticed that birds fly, he was watching one in our yard. When it flew away, his eyes got wide, he started to giggle and screech. He looked at me and pointed to the air and in his own language let out the most excited non-descript words I have ever heard. And there he goes stealing my heart even more as if it were ever even possible. But his favorite bird of all time is none other than the hummingbird. He calls for them in the cutest way ever and you guessed it, I captured that on video. Score! And don’t get me started on the squirrels that he chases like he’s going to get them and runs away from them terrified when they stand their ground. You can’t help but laugh as every time he runs to my side and holds on to me knowing I will protect him at any cost. And my all-time favorite Holy Moly moment was when we were doing some yard work in the summer. Lots of bees were hanging out in the flowers and I hear my son saying “mom bee…mom look at bee. Cute bee.” I look over and he was petting the bees. PETTING THEM! I couldn’t believe my eyes. Not even a care. Not even knowing that bees can sting. In my panicked moment, I realized the bees didn’t care one bit either. They were letting him. Thank God he knew to be gentle. Likely because of our dog and our constant showing him and telling him to be gentle when he pets. I'd say in this case, the lesson more than paid off. And as any mom would, I walked him away from the bees and told him we shouldn’t pet them because they were eating. Eating, he understands pollinating is a whole other chapter later in life. But it just made me see that there is something magical to a child’s innocence that even bees can clearly sense. And as he notices the creatures that live among us from foxes, yes foxes, raccoons, seals and porpoises and so many others, I see how amazed he is by them. His curiosity and his excitement helped me see that he was growing a love for these creatures. Lucky for us we found the best show about animals - PBS' Wild Kratts. He absolutely loves this show. Not only does it teach us all so many things we never knew, but it's also super fun to watch - even for us adults. The other amazing site we use to teach him more about animals is NatGeo for kids. He loves all the pictures of animals, videos, games and there is just loads of information for all ages. Education can never start too young and if they're having fun in the process then we all win.
These discoveries that our little ones are amazed by, are the things we forget to slow down and take a look at. It is a struggle to stop and smell the roses - as the old saying goes. We all get so caught up in our lives and feel like there’s never enough time. But there is. It's a choice we make every day. Because of him, I do it more often and appreciate my surroundings in a different way. These little beings teach us more than we realize and quite honestly keep this mom mentally sound.
As he has gotten older, getting the chance to watch his brain in motion and seeing him discover everything, is so fun and simply incredible. I am learning all over again through him but this time I get to see it his way instead of mine. It's a never ending world of day dreams, discovery and wonderment and I can’t wait to see all the adventures that lie ahead. I love my little family to the moon and back again. I would go to the ends of the earth for them.
XOXO,
Christine
Founder/Owner of cee cee & ryan diaper bags ~ mom to an amazing boy ~ wife to a pretty rad husband
This is was so beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this. Made my heart feel so good. Love all your blogs actually. Looking forward to reading more.
You described how I feel about my children. Each and every one of them. You brought some of my most fondest memories to the surface and just made me smile all day long. I have this wonderful memory of my first born discovering the fun of a water sprinkler during summer. The way he was apprehensive of the water shooting up and not knowing what to do and then little by little making his way into the water. At one point he stood over the sprinkler and quickly realized it was not for him. The look on his face was somewhat disgust combined with run! It was so funny. But even after this experience he found his way back into the water and had so much fun that afternoon as did I. Miss those days and I cherish them as well.
I am so in love with this story. It made me feel so warm and happy. I am so excited to watch my little one grow and witness so many things he discovers like you’ve written about here. So heart warming. There are so many things I could say about this but all I want to say right now is thank you for writing it and for sharing it.
The pictures alone can melt your heart let alone your words. I can only imagine how you feel and cannot wait to experience all this and more myself. Baby number one is on it’s way and I am so excited. Your article was so needed and so welcomed. It is so scary becoming a first time mom but as I imagined it’s worth every step of the way. Thank you for sharing it.
Oh my gosh was this article so touching! I was so touched by it and it made me want to rush home and just be with my baby. Can’t wait to get home and snuggle the heck out of him. I loved reading this and thanks for the animal suggestions to help teach him. I think he’ll be ready for this in no time. I am so looking forward to seeing him discovery all the things around us. Being a mom is so amazing and this blog was such a wonderful read. Thank you for sharing it. I can relate to so much of what you wrote and excited at what is ahead like you said. Love it. Plus, your diaper bags are AMAZING! Just ordered one. I can’t wait to get it! Thank you!!!
After reading this it really made me think of all the craziness of our world today and what really matters the most is my son. I am definitely going to be spending more time focused on him and all the things he’s learning more. This article is great because we do overlook all the little things that are actually big moments for our babies and to be able to share that with them is a once in a lifetime opportunity. You can’t get these moments back and I plan to cherish each one of them. Thank you for writing this and sharing such precious moments with your son. I really loved reading every word of it.
This was the best read I have come across in such a long time. So beautiful and thoughtful. Those memories are so precious and it makes me remember so many of mine with my little ones. They are such curious creatures and it really is incredible to watch them grow and learn. I really loved being able to go back to my memories and like you I also have my youngest watching Wild Kratt’s. I love that show! Really is a great one. Thank you for sharing your pictures and moments. They are beautiful and your son is so adorable. Hope you write more on his adventures as I’d love to read them. Thank you for making my day brighter.
I can completely relate to this article. It is so beautiful and made me think about all the things my little one is learning right now. And you are 100% correct. We must make the time to stop and appreciate these moments whenever we can because before you know it they are two then they are five and you have no idea where the time went. You have inspired me to capture the moments I remember so I never forget them. Thank you for writing this and I am also glad I found you in Instagram! Looking forward to more. Love, Julia
This is such a sweet article I was close to tears. It’s very insightful about the emotions a parent experiences. It takes me back to when my daughter was young and made me think of all the great memories I have. I really love this blog piece. Excellent!
Dear Christine ~~ Your reflection expresses so beautifully your feelings upon the birth of your son. These emotions were exactly what I felt when my son, my firstborn, came into the world—so fearful of the awesome responsibility of raising this tiny infant into a loving, compassionate, responsible man, and yet the minute I held him, the fear was vanquished by a firm resolve to never let any harm come to him, to do my best to accomplish the task that lay before me. Well, 39 years later, I look at my son and realize I did a good, no, a great job, by the grace of God, and though I might not agree with my son on a few fronts, overall he is everything that I hoped he would be. And your son will be too, because when it’s all said and done, love and love alone is the most important thing. And readily expressing that love is so very important. With that, and a view toward raising a responsible adult, everything else will fall into place. Thank you for your heartfelt article.
I actually realized this after taking a mindful meditation class. I am now able to recognize what being in the moment with my son really feels like! It is a gift and a blessing. I also gave up facebook and post family photos once a month which allows me to spend quality time with my family and myself. It is just wonderful. Thanks for the great article!
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