birthday Archives - Raising Roberts

birthday and bowling

8 years ago, I became a mother for the first time when Liam was born. It amazes me how fast that time went. I mentioned on my instagram/facebook how I’ve realized that all those mom clichés are true. When those old ladies come up to me at the grocery store and say “Enjoy them, they grow up so fast,” I always let them know that I’ve already gotten a little taste of how fast it goes. And with each child I have, it seems to go even faster. That’s why I try to savor every stage (including pregnancy!) I can barely remember what life was like with only one child…and even harder to remember life before kids.

We had planned to take the kids to play some miniature golf during our staycation but changed our mind (literally, at the last minute.) We pulled into the parking lot and, for multiple reasons, decided to not play golf. There was also a bowling alley at the same location so we decided to do that instead.

So we kind of turned it into a birthday bowling outing. Evangeline didn’t want to play and Kingston dropped out after the first game. But Liam and Kai loved it. It was kind of hilarious watching them struggling with those 6 pound bowling balls. They started out by cheering each other on until they both realized that they actually wanted to win. So they started celebrating each other’s mistakes instead haha.

Gotta love that pose, ready for a victory dance! If you know Kai, you may know he has always celebrated everything by dancing–this started before he was even a year old. Just wishing I didn’t cut off his foot in this picture.

The next day was Liam’s actual birthday. We started the morning by attempting to check out garage sales (and not finding many!) Liam really wanted to try a donut shop called Ex Cop Donuts. We thought they were pretty good. The real treat was when a worker gave us free donuts as we were about to leave because she found out it was Liam’s birthday. So I think that made his day. He also requested banana pudding as his birthday dessert. I didn’t find out until later that he had never actually tried it before. He was just in it for the vanilla wafers (which would have been a much simpler dessert on its own haha) But I did get help from him and a couple of the other kids when I made it (was it really helpful or was it more work??)

And birthday pictures on the front porch are a must–right before we headed out to his fancy birthday dinner at the McDonald’s playplace (always a request by the birthday boy/girl!)

This sweet moment–captured by Kai, ruined by Kingston.

I wish I could go back in time when Liam was a newborn. I would be able to give myself a lot of advice–to snuggle more and worry less. He has taught me so much through these past 8 years that I have been able to use to raise the others. The poor kid has had to put up with my navigation through motherhood but he has always given me grace as I’ve learned. It’s been amazing to see the fruits of our labor with him, that all our hard work has paid off. We love our little 8 year old!

August 23, 2016

birthday, Blog, desmond, Family

my baby is one!

We officially have a one year old! We celebrated Desmond’s first birthday today. This year zipped by so fast. Especially after the wait for him felt like so long. When I was pregnant with him, I was sick and in pain almost the entire second half of my pregnancy. I was also preparing to be a bridesmaid in my best friend’s wedding as well as in the process of purchasing our first home. It was such a busy season of our lives and I had such a hard time feeling any sort of bond with him before he was born like I had with the others.

I had many worries that maybe I wouldn’t love him as much as I loved the other kids. I had heard other mothers voice this concern before and never understood how they could feel that way. I always knew I would have no problem bonding with my child. But this time just felt different. And while I knew I loved Desmond, I felt like our bond just wouldn’t be the same.

But when he was born, all of those feelings quickly vanished. I then found myself feeling so much in love with him as a newborn that I was wanting another baby pretty much as soon as he came out haha. Ever since then, I still feel a special bond with this little guy, our baby #5. This past year with him has been such a joy.

(It takes a special kind of love to post my swollen pregnancy face on my blog!!)

(photos by Liam and/or Kai)

So as what happens with the 5th child (at least in this home–with all of the busyness) we had a simple little birthday celebration with just our family…getting our free Chick-fil-a for Cow Appreciation Day and eating cupcakes made with a box mix.

Desmond didn’t mind as he dove in, face first, for his first bite.

And now for all the “fun facts” that probably only a mom would love!

Desmond started walking in the past few weeks, perfecting his walk every day. He’s determined to get it down so he can keep up with everyone else.

He loves mimicking sounds and waving and clapping his hands. He can say “hi” “mama” “dada” “uh oh” and “whoa!” (I think that’s it!!) But he’ll only say them when he wants to. He’s pretty stubborn about talking.

He likes to stare at everybody outside of our family with a blank stare and makes them work very hard for a smile. But once he warms up to a person and his surroundings, he’s very carefree and super happy. His personality is hilarious and I spend a ton of time cracking up about everything he’s doing.

He still sleeps in our room (in a playpen) because he wakes up early and I don’t want to have to walk up the stairs to get him in the mornings haha. Part of me looks forward to him moving in with his brothers (and they beg for it all the time!) but the other part loves walking into our room every nap time or at night and seeing the adorable way he’s sleeping. Don and I text pictures to each other almost daily when we catch him in a sweet little pose.