Little Dude turns 2 this week.
I am greatly saddened by this news.
For Little Dude is my last baby.
And he is not really a baby anymore.
How is it possible that I don’t have a baby?
It seems there has always been one or two of those creatures in my life for the past 7 years.
And now that stage is over.
I’ll tell you one thing that ain’t two things . . . I will not miss breastfeeding babies.
No, sirs, I will not.
How anyone could enjoy that dreadful activity is beyond me.
When Little Dude was a baby, he would not smile.
Nor would he laugh.
Seriously.
For like the first year of his life.
So, naturally, I was worried that something was wrong with him.
Around this time last year, I wrote this post about how happy I was to finally see him smile. Since this post has been marked private (long-story-involving-creepy persons), most of you have not seen it and I wanted to share it with you today:
***
Why I Let Him Throw Food Off The Highchair
For those of you who have had more than one child, you can relate to how relaxed you become with each subsequent child. While your firstborn would surely get sick if she sucked on an unsanitized pacifier, the last child is fine to suck on a pacifier straight off the floor. By the time the fourth child comes along, a mother might be too busy dealing with other issues than to worry about the baby doing naughty things, like throwing food off the high chair.
(Handsome Dude)
Meet the source of 99% of my “other issues”
But, no, that is not why I let Little Dude throw food off the highchair.
I have a much better excuse for why I am slacking off in the discipline area with number four.
(Daisy Mae, Sweet Pea, and Little Dude)
Here is that precious little number 4 on the day he was born:
(Sweet Pea, Little Dude, and Daisy Mae)
Those girls.
I can just hear them now:
Sweet Pea: Ok, Daisy Mae. I can be the mommy and you can be the daddy.
Daisy Mae: No fair! You are always the mommy!
Sweet Pea: That’s cause I am the oldest. I’ll let you hold him sometimes.
Daisy Mae: Ok! And we can feed him and dress him and change his diapers . . .
Poor Little Dude.
Never had a chance.
(Little Dude)
As the days came and went, I was so thankful he was such an easy, mellow baby.
Hardly a peep.
Content.
(Daisy Mae, Little Dude, and me. I offer no excuses for my hair. Just know it was a crazy-busy time in my life. Thank you)
He was probably terrified.
Maybe he heard about the giant stash of baby doll dress-up clothes the girls have hidden away in their room.
(Handsome Dude)
Plus, he’s got this character for a big brother.
Can you blame him for being quiet and keeping to himself?
I figured it was his mode for survival:
“Lay low. They won’t notice me.”
(Little Dude and his cousin, Little Miss)
(Little Dude)
And while I truly appreciated the calmness this child had, I was beginning to worry.
Will this child ever smile? Babies born weeks, months even, after him, were already giggling and babbling.
Will this be the most emotion he will ever show?
I was quite thrilled the night he made this face.
I was relieved to discover he could show at least one emotion.
Maybe he was just a thinker?
A brilliant and quiet mind, if you will?
(Handsome Dude)
Compared to this guy, quiet was a breath of fresh air.
I longed to see him smile.
Then one day, I heard a strange, new sound coming from the highchair.
(Little Dude)
Laughter.
He was tossing food off the side of the highchair to our dog, Mabel.
Apparently, this was the key to unlock that precious laughter hidden deep inside.
Melts my heart.
Dang. He is certainly going to be confused when he gets in trouble for this next week.
Yes, I am a brilliant parent.
Feel free to steal my methods.
But look at that face!
My baby!
He’s smiling!
And she doesn’t mind either!
***
I am happy to say that Little Dude is now quite the smiley boy.
And can we not all agree that he is uber precious?
Little Dude’s Life Verse:
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
Happy Birthday to my last baby . . . who is no longer a baby.
It’s soooo bittersweet to see the sweet darlings grow up. I have 3 and my last one is 18 mo on Friday. While you dont want them to stay babies forever it sure is hard to let them grow up!
Happy birthday! Did the LJ walk by while you were writing this one, too, and do the “baby fever double take”? 🙂
Oh my goodness, this made me tear up! My “baby” of four just graduated from high school…yes, I’m kind emotional about this…where did the time go?!
I was thinking that Little Dude might have gotten his smiling gene from his daddy ;-)!! And yes, he is “uber precious”! Happy Birthday, Little Dude!
I think he was just taking a page from LJ’s playbook w/ the non-smiling.
The baby is always a baby. And haven’t you established on this blog that your LJ is not a big smiler. Maybe he got a mega dose of LJ genes?
Regardless, you all have adorable children! Happy Birthday to Little Dude.
Wait, creepy personS? there was more than ONE?
Okay, my oldest is turning 3 in September and I’m already feeling weepy. I feel for you, this has got to be soooo hard…
I can’t imagine NOT having a baby around. Does this mean I will end up with 14 kids? Or does it suddenly happen, you are DONE?
Hm. hate breastfeeding. Love it hate it ,hate it. Love. Not.
Those are my feelings.
For me, it didn’t suddenly happen emotionally, though I know it does to lots of (and maybe even most) people. It was more of a practical decision because of our age. If I were younger, we would have waited four years and had two more. That spacing between the pairs has been so helpful!
mine are 20 months apart. I’m on a break, for sanity’s sake…but I hypothetically want more.
My first two are 22 months apart, and my 3rd & 4th are 18 months apart. But there’s four years in between the sets, so that made a world of difference! Not just the break, but also the two oldest being more independent .
Awww…Happy Bday Little Dude. He is so precious, Taylor, and I think that smile was definitely worth waiting for 🙂 I bet he rarely stops now, huh? 😉 My baby is 8, and I do long for those baby days again sometimes for sure; however, I do not miss the breastfeeding, and the diaper changes, and the fact they can get themselves dressed is a pretty good thing…
Happy birthday precious baby boy!! =)
SO sweet! Happy Birthday, Little Dude!!
The not smiling thing was his attempt to be like his daddy. Maybe you should let LJ throw food from the high chair and take pictures so we can see HIS smile.
Happy Birthday Little Dude!
I’m feeling your pain, as my littlest dude turns 2 the following week. I didn’t realize they were born around the same time. And I still maintain that you were way cuter than me while we were pregnant. 🙂
What a sweet story for your little one. He is a cutie. You see, he followed his life verse and just waited on the Lord to smile and laugh when he was good and ready. Happy Birthday Little Dude! 🙂
Like father.
Like son!
Happy Birthday & it is bittersweet.
Awww… how precious. He is so cute… Still waters run deep, right?! 🙂 My baby is four. I’m not sure how that happened, somehow time still flies when you’re not necessarily having fun, but instead cleaning up poop, pee, puke and boogers like crazy.
Yes, we can all agree he’s uber precious and happy birthdays to all the June-born!
Def uber precious.
Congrats on another successful year, Mom!
Are you trying to depress me today? 🙂 It is just so sad when you realize your baby isn’t one anymore. But boy is he CUTE!! That smile was worth the wait!! Go eat some super sugary cake and make yourself feel better. Or I could bake something for you. Whatever. Love, Sweet Sugar Pants. 🙂
AWWW, Dude, you made tears come to my eyes!
Can you blame him? Feeding the dog the veggies you are supposed to eat is, afterall, great fun.
Thanks for sharing!
Happy Bday Little Dude! He’s the cutest little dude ever! My sweet baby girl is only 4 months but I still want to cry all the time (maybe the hormones haven’t evened out?! ha!). My first baby is growing too fast! I’m not ready!
Happy birthday Little dude! I know it is sad when you have no more babies but just think, soon no more diapers!!! I do have to agree, he is uber cute! 🙂 I hope his birthday is great!
I had to giggle (quietly as it IS quiet time around here right now) about your comment on my post about the buttocks in the air!
My 3rd is now 2 and even that is hard for me to believe! 2! When I had my friend’s kids over yesterday, she has a two year old, too. And after the kids had been here all day, Dash and HLG (her little girl) were breaking out the 2 year old war tactics.
And one point in the middle of the yard (as this was happening), I belted out, “I’ve had enough of 2. I don’t want to do 2 ANYMORE!” Not as in have 2 kids or even my friend’s 2 kids. Yesterday I decided my children were done being 2. Dash wasn’t going to be 2 anymore and either was HLG or Fourdatzky (who should be getting a new name shortly)!
Aww, shucks… no more babies!
Happy Birthday Little Dude!!
So sweet! Happy Birthday Little Dude! He is such a little cutie 🙂
Happy birthday to your baby. Two, man what a fun age.
This post is just too sweet. And he’s adorable. 🙂
Marla @ http://www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com
Happy Birthday Little Dude!
Happy Birthday Lil Dude! May you have only wonderful and good memories.
Happy belated birthday to your little guy!!
You know, I like your Mommy methods. I’m a firm believer in bribery, despite what the “experts” say. Cookies for good behavior work every time. *wink*