Unexpectations

I have encountered so many surprises in the last year and felt so many different emotions; it's hard to keep up. Yeah, I thought I had it all figured out until I became a mother.
Never did I think that I would dance around the house to music just to see my son smile. I certainly never thought I'd have Barney on ever in my lifetime - but he liked it - and because he liked it so did I. I never thought I'd wear yoga pants and a tank top all day, not leave the house for 4 days straight and be OK with it. I didn't think anything but the dog would ever go through the doggy door. I thought I'd be a lot more strict. I never thought naughty could be so funny. I never thought I'd be level-headed in a panic situation. I never imagined I could pack a whole suitcase for a baby and a half a suitcase for me. I always thought the concept of watching a baby sleep was sweet, but never imagined I could just stand there watching him breathe and literally have to tear myself away.
Today I realized that just as there is a tooth fairy to take the teeth that children lose, there is also a tooth monster who brings the teeth; and comes in the form of your child.

Monkey Kisses?

So, Monkey Kisses. It's my favorite thing. I am not a big monkey lover and actually was never fond of monkeys until I had one. I mean, until I had a little boy who is pretty much the living definition of a monkey but without all the fur and lice. He climbs on everything, he makes me laugh and he screeches with glee while I chase him around the house. The other day he was picking rice up from the rug and eating it. I cracked up. The kisses aren't mastered on his part yet and I'm still waiting for that day when he turns his angelic little face up to mine with a slobbery show of affection and appreciation. I know I love monkey kisses, though, because I can give them to him. All day long if I want to - and there's nothing better than smooching on that soft, squishy little baby skin. So, Monkey Kisses it is.
As I sit here typing he is unloading yet another box of kleenex onto the living room floor and tearing them up. Monkey.
I have regrets about not starting this sooner; about not capturing my thoughts and feelings in those first 11 months and not writing a story about every single funny and amazing thing he did. I guess I thought I'd always feel the same. I thought he'd stay the same. I thought time wasn't flying by as quickly as it was. Now, here I am thinking about planning a first birthday party for my baby.
The truth, as every mom knows, is that he changes every single day. I have to do this for him, for anyone out there who wants to know, and mostly for myself. I don't want to forget a single moment of his life or a single feeling.
So, check back every 6 months or save us in your favorites if you want - that's what I do. I sit and read about everyone else's lives, watch their kids grow in pictures, laugh at their clever posts and funny emotional rants and - until now - wish I had the motivation to do it myself. I have to admit I'm loving it. The words seem to be coming easily...probably because I have a lot to say and no one to say it to. Aren't you the lucky ones?
Between the kleenex box and now he has thrown a phone and a remote control behind the couch, a red pen and plastic ring out the doggy door and chewed a hole in the Neosporin tube. Monkey.