Family, by Choice

I am a very lucky lady. I am extremely close to my immediate family, and they all live so close by! My Mom and sisters and I are like four peas in a rather boisterous pod. I also have a great family of in-laws that are wonderful and supportive and also live nearby. But earlier this week I was "gently prompted" (lol) to write a post about some other amazing people in my life. Thom and I, along with my Mom went on a whirlwind road-trip down to "The County" (Prince Edward County) to visit my fantastic (and so young looking) Godparents, Donna and Denis.

These two, along with their kids (Hi Em & Mike!) have been there for our family since WAY before I was born. Donna's friendship with my Mom has always been an example of how two people can stay friends through thick and thin, and though they may not see each other as often as they'd like, you can always pick up right where you left off. Donna and Denis have been a shining example of a strong loving marriage, which I desperately needed growing up! They have raised two great kids who were (and are) friends of ours and they have a beautiful (newly renovated!) home. We were lucky enough on this very short (24 hour) trip to have dinner with Donna's family, and I love that I am as comfortable with her parents as I am with my own grandparents, they're hilarious people. Donna's 97 year old grandma was even there, and she is an amazing lady! Still in her own home and still very independent.

But when we started discussing whether Thom could call Mike (Farmer) "Uncle Mike", (and my answer was an obvious "yes!") I started thinking about what makes someone family. Everyone has a family, whether they are close with them or not, whether they even know them or not. But some people aren't as close with their family as I am. Emotionally or in terms of distance. Does that mean that they are less "family"? Not technically... But I know that some people who live far away from their biological family sometimes make a new family. A family of friends. People you can count on, for anything at any time. People who support you, who cheer you on and share your joys and tears. Who can call you out for all your crap, but still make you laugh at the end of it all. This is the relationship our family has to Donna and Denis. When we'd all be at the cottage growing up, you never knew which Mom would be telling you off if you screwed up!

I heard someone say "You can't pick your family", but I think you can't pick ALL your family. Some family you're born with, and some become family over time. You build a family with love, whether you do it biologically or through acquisition. And I love my crazy family!!

Creepin' But Not Quite Crawling

It's a momentous day. Somehow I managed to convince Thom to almost "army crawl" across the playroom floor this morning! It took like 20 minutes, and it involved a lot of effort on his part, but he did it! I can just feel how close he is to crawling, and it's both exciting and terrifying. I don't know if I'm ready to have a mobile baby! But as we approach this milestone I realize (again) how fast time is passing. My squidgey little baby is becoming a busy little guy!

I just want to press "pause" and appreciate the time we spend together. We still have our moments-we always will! I'll get frustrated with his whiny sounds, he'll get mad at me when I don't know what he wants... But lately (other than teething time) we've been having some excellent times. WAY more fun than frustrations. The past few weeks we've done a lot of fun things, and I hope to do many more in the weeks to come. I don't know how long I will be "off" from work (or if I will go back) but I want to make the most of these days.

We have a fairly rigorous bedtime routine for Thom that we try to stick to. Every evening after Mike gets home, we have some playing time, jumping time and then dinner. After dinner Mike does bath-time and then Thom gets ready for bed. There's lots of giggling and laughing during these times. 5 o'clock used to be called "Yelling Hour" in our house, but most of the time that is no longer the case. When Thom is ready for bed, I feed him and then we spend some time snuggling. And honestly, there is nothing in the world I value more than those ten or fifteen minutes every day. Even when he is still wound up and he's rolling back and forth and I'm sighing, eventually he snuggles down, wipes his oily head (cradle cap) all over my face (maybe that's why my skin is so bad?) and buries his face in my neck. And my heart melts. Every time.

I know that he's growing up, (too fast!) and eventually he won't want to snuggle with his Mom to fall asleep. I have to remember that when he wants to snuggle to fall asleep at 3am... I know that this is "Mommy time", and in a couple of years it will be "Daddy time", and Mike will be his hero. At least I hope he will :) but for the time being, he's Mommy's Boy, and I can't help but love him to bits.

Look how freaking cute!