25 August 2010

today you are two.



hello birthday boy,
today you turn two and we are celebrating.

the days have tumbled together and suddenly you are two years old. i saw it coming, but i can barely believe it. i am gladder than glad i've been jotting details down as we have gotten to know each other. for it was two years ago today that the love affair officially began. love at first sight.

twenty-four months does not seem like enough time for a tiny newborn bundle to learn to know his mother's voice, to stretch his toes and fists while yawning and learn to sleep and eat and walk and talk. oh the places you'll go. to go from snoozing on my chest to riding on papa's back like a cowboy. the same blanket that swaddled you like a burrito is now a cape or a hiding spot for a wild game of peekaboo. you know actions to itsy bitsy spider and how to all fall down and how to jump and somersault and open closet doors to get out your own shoes and socks. (i hope i never tire of matching socks with tiny helicopters on them.) as a mama, i marvel at the little lessons a baby learns, stacking knowledge like blocks. until one day your baby has outgrown being a baby. just typing that last sentence, a lump is swelling in my throat.

i want to remember the way you are as this little person in my life. the way you hug real tight. how you blow kisses from your crib. the way you lie down on your stomach to see the wheels go round and round while pushing your cars on the carpet. how you jump on my bed and take the batteries out of my alarm clock. and then you hand the parts to me because you know i don't want them to get lost or go in your mouth. and then i rhyme. can you say clock? and you attempt the word. can you knock knock on the clock? which you do. and where is your sock? and you point to your toes. i want to remember how you help me with daily chores. how fast your hair grows. how you like to go two-fisted, grasping a car in each hand and then trying to turn pages or do other daily functions with these cars attached to the palms of your hands. i want to remember how you love sitting on the bathroom counter while i get ready for the day. the way you pop a cookie into your mouth. the way you pick out all the marshmallows of your lucky charms. i love when you woosh down the slide at the park and then brush your hands together to clean them off. how you turn away, suddenly bashful when strangers smile, and coyly stare back at them from the corner of your eye. i love that you sleep with an entourage each night.

you are getting so big. however i refuse to be sad about letting you grow up. you were meant to grow and more importantly, i am grateful you are growing. i do not want to take for granted your good health and happiness and general sunshiney-ness. we are blessed by your presence day in and day out. i have plans to cherish each day of you so i never have to wistfully wish for you to be a baby again. i love you. grow, my little one, big and tall and strong.

happy birthday, benji.

23 comments:

Lesa said...

Happy Birthday to your guy. They grow up so fast!

colleen said...

what a beautiful celebration of your boy & your mama-hood as only your words can capture! lump in this throat just reading it and trying to embrace the feeling of the entire last paragraph in my own life & with my 3 guys…been having trouble with that so thanks for a shinier way to look at the growing up. I don't want to be wistfully wishing either. enjoy the big day!

J, K, L, and D said...

What an adorable tribute to your son. This makes me more excited to have a child, and much less anxious. You knew just what I needed today. Thanks, Marta.

Johanna said...

Happy birthday to your special little Benji!

Hil said...

Happy Birthday Benji! We are so sad we couldn't make it to his fun party today. Give him a big hug and eat some extra cake for us as well!

MakingTime said...

Marvelous! So well said. Happy Birthday to you both!

MakingTime said...

Marvelous! So well said. Happy Birthday to you both!

Amy said...

Happy Birthday Benji Bear! You are such a doll. And congrats to your Mama and Dad for the great job they've done so far at this parenting stuff! Love you!!! XOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

jane said...

happy birthday to your little boy. time certainly flies.

[eeny] said...

Happy birthday to Benji.

This post is so lovely. I love the way you write about Benji - so full of love.

Anneliese said...

happy birthday to your little boy! i can't believe he is 2! i think i started following you before he was born! i know you guys will have a fabulous day + birthday party! can't wait to 'hear' about it :)

Anonymous said...

Happy happy birthday Benji! That picture of him in the star glasses is awesome.

Christina said...

Happy Birthday to Benji. I loved the line "you were meant to grow..." I need to take this to heart as I'm weepy with my oldest starting kindergarten. They are meant to grow, and I need the reminder to embrace it and be grateful for the blessing of watching them grow.


Hope your little family has a fun celebration today!

Erin said...

Congrats to both of you on another year! He is so cute Mart, such a good mix of you and Dan. Hope you have a fun day celebrating.

Travelin'Oma said...

Your words about motherhood are timely and timeless. I love how you string them together.

Briel said...

That was beautifully written! Happy birthday to Benji!

joy said...

Happy birthday to Benji! Love this post Martha, and how you speak about mama-hood.

*Dream Weaver* said...

Happy Birthday Benji! God bless and may you have a blessed and beautiful days ahead of you.

summer said...

happy birthday benji! i'm so happy that you have this wonderful mom!

and so happy for you marta, that your first two years of being a mom have been a grand success. that is no small achievement! and you've done it all with a happy heart. you are forever shedding a joyful light on the responsibilities of being a mom, and all the fringe benefits that come with. thanks for sharing the specifics with us.

kami @ nobiggie.net said...

as my little 2 year old would say to yours: "Happy Day Benji!"

so far I'm loving two, and you will too!

Jake said...

Happiest belated wishes to Benji! We love him so much and he will be so grateful to read your memories someday! Hope the party was a smashing success!

Whatever Dee-Dee wants said...

He is so sweet!

Mel said...

I've read for more than a year but never commented. Thank you for the perfectly written end paragraph. It is exactly how I feel about my 2 year old little boy, and I so much prefer reading the encapsulation of such a positive, happy sentiment to the morose attitude I hear so often from moms at a child's birthday or sign of them becoming "big". I loved reading a celebration of a child doing exactly what they are supposed to do: grow and continue to become the wonderful beings they are destined to be!

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