The Very First Birthday

My sweet babies. Double boy joys.

 Yesterday you both turned one. On the very same day, as it were. (Imagine that.) It's simply unfathomable that an entire year has slipped us right by. But a moment ago, you had arrived. I cherished months of feeling your energetic bodies twist and turn, flip and flop with my womb. And then you were here. Cries of hunger, whimpers of fatigue and whines desiring comfort consumed our every moment of every day. Your Daddy and I wondered if we would live to tell you how busy our first few months were. And now. Here you both are. One year old. Full of life. Full of energy. Giggles and grins. Tears and expressions of anger, as well. Always on the move, nary a moment of calm. (I'm told boys are just like that.)
Holding your sleeping bodies together on my chest is a vapor of a memory. Your squirming, dervish selves sit only for a second of cuddle; and off you go. But that's okay. You are little boys now, after all. "Go" just so happens to be your middle names from here on out.
I look around our house and I see the livelihood of boys dwelling here. Trucks and tractors. Hoodie sweaters and helicopters. Baseball caps and fire-truck jammies. It makes this Mama content. Oh, so content. Never in a million years did I think there would be boys in our lives. Never in a million years did I anticipate this heart (that was always bent towards little girls) desiring to know a little boy's love. Never, ever in a million years did I for one moment even ponder the possibility that God might grace us with not one...but two. (Although, I must be honest...we have our days where we really question if He knew what He was doing...)
In fact, He did know. He knew that you would both be needing one another. He knew that it would be slightly cruel to send just one of you along in a home that was mostly estrogen-fueled. He knew that this Mama was not well trained in boy-things; breaking me in with two at once would be the band-aid ripped off quickly that I so, so needed.

My sweet, sweet Cody.

 I adore your gentle spirit. Your mostly laid-back nature is so much like your Daddy. You are so very hesitant towards new people and new things. You patiently hold back and allow Brother the spotlight. Your grin...oh, how heart-melting it is. Even your little bouts of frustration are rather amusing to us all. Putting your teeth in an under bite position and thrusting your little head forward...it's just too much! Your sisters, I happened to notice, show you more sympathy. And when you cry they're all more apt to come running...knowing full-well if you're crying you really, really mean it. You consistently wake up from your nap a half-hour before Chase; I'm sure it's so you can enjoy having Mama all to yourself. If only for a short time. And I'm gonna be honest....I love it, too. But don't tell your brother.

]My crazy, wild Chase.

You were birthed out of my womb ready to take on the whole world. Everything you do, you do it with reckless abandon. Jump first; ask later. You manage to get yourself in quite the predicaments. Stuck under the table, head-first on the chair's leg. Somehow you are one crawling injury waiting to happen. You keep me on my toes. Your eyes are always searching out something. I adore how you love. Wholehearted. (And often with teeth sunk into some part of my flesh; for good measure, of course.) All I have to do is lay on the floor and you know it's an open invitation for play. Oh, how you love play. Your giggles are contagious. And you are the first one at a strangers feet; awaiting the meeting of a new friend. Although you were born last, you are determined to compensate by doing everything first. From rolling to crawling to first steps. You really think you have the world by its tail. Perhaps you do.
This past year has been wild. And crazy. I've been taught many things, just from twelve months of your existence. I had no idea I was capable of handling so much. Far more than I thought I could. And yet...I still have many things to learn. It hasn't been without tears. And an occasional word spoken that no Mama ought to speak under her breath. But as I gaze into those matching pair of  baby blue eyes...I melt. (I had no idea little boys could melt me this way) And it's all worth it. No regrets. Life in this very moment is perfect. Just the way it is.

Happy First Birthday, Precious Boys.



Wait a minute...that's mine, Chase...

Waaaah! Mama! He stole my name!