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Seriously, if you had told me five years ago that I’d one day be buying “light up shoes” for my kids, I would have laughed in your face and said, “NEVER!” Never, ever, in a million years would I have thought I’d buy these things for my kids. Never. For so many reasons; I can’t even count the ways in which I felt completely opposed to all that “light up shoes” are and represent. But five years ago I did not know what I know now.

I did not know then that it so doesn’t matter what kind of sneakers they are wearing– even if they are “light up shoes.” I did not know then that they’d genuinely want “light up shoes” so very, very much that their little hearts would skip a beat and they’d become almost breathless at the mere thought of somehow acquiring them. I did not know then that I’d actually really ‘get it’ why, and how, they wanted them. I did not know then that deep in my soul I’d feel such overflowing, unreserved, gushing adoration for these boys. I did not know then that I’d want the world for them so badly; that I’d do anything in my power for them; that my heart would melt a hundred times a day because of them– even amidst them driving me absolutely crazy and making me feel like I have truly zero parenting skills and pushing me to the brink of numerous nervous breakdowns on so many, many occasions daily. I did not know then that it would make me so happy to see them so happy with something so tiny and minor as “light up shoes.” I did not know then that at this point I’d fully grasp how very quickly they are growing up, how very short life is, and how very menial “light up shoes” are in the grand scheme of it all. I did not know then what I know now: That I would become capable of just letting it all go and being so giddy happy while watching them stomp around, delighted, this morning, wearing their new “light up shoes.”

It is hard to imagine it now, but someday these days will all be a distant blur. We won’t remember most of the specifics of the daily grind; we won’t remember most of the day-to-day routine of it. We’ll forget how simply exhausting it all is right now. I know that we’ll forget because already we have only a foggy recollection of the mundane details of our first couple years with Kyle and Owen. Heck, if it weren’t for this blog (and thus our ability to click back and see what we were doing), I would not be able to recall most all of what we were doing one year ago. Let alone 30. I imagine us as empty-nesters, romanticizing the past, remembering all the sweet but glossing over all the yuck of back in the day when we were that young couple trying to keep up with the momentum of our careers while all the while trying to keep up with the momentum of three under five. For example, one thing that we surely (hopefully) will eventually forget about this time right now is…
…Every night, after we get all three kids to bed, we come downstairs, bleary-eyed and tired-to-the-bone, to face the night shift. First on the very-long-agenda every night: clean up from dinner. Tonight was especially unpleasant because dinner involved couscous — which I actually tend to avoid serving to my darling family simply because of its mess factor. These images don’t do it justice, but hopefully they’ll at least prompt some (gory) memories for us in the years to come. As always, click to enlarge.

The past three months have been absolutely crazy with so much big stuff happening. On top of all our ‘normal’ stuff, there have been a lot of bigger-than-normal goings-on’s. For Kyle and Owen, as March was proceeding, it proved to be way too much to try to wrap their minds around it all and keep it all straight. Toward the end of March they were already coming mentally unglued trying to intellectually grasp it all. So, I photocopied pages from a calendar and wrote in just the biggest of big ticket items and taped it all to the fridge. Each night they took turns crossing off the day– Kyle on even days, Owen on odd days. It has been one big thing after another, with every day that was crossed off another big thing to anticipate around the corner. Lots of excitement building, lots of crescendos, lots of getting ready for the next big thing. Really, it has all been a bit too much for their barely-5-year-old heads to handle (not to mention the heads of the 36 and 37 year olds in the house). I feel like we’ve just lived about 12 months jam packed into the past 3. And here we are, somehow, safely on the other side. It has taken a toll but we’re still standing. I’m relieved that it is June 1. Not that we don’t have an exciting 3 months on the horizon– we do. But simply having the birthdays and the big vaca off the calendar will be a huge, huge help to the emotional wagon-load we’re pulling around here day-by-day. We need a relatively low-key summer to get ourselves back in working order. Thank goodness it is June 1.

Even though the boys still have two weeks of school left, we feel like summer has unofficially begun. Our pool is open (as long as the sun is shining and it is half-way warm out, the boys are swimming, swimming, swimming and Meera is right there with them); our sunroom is now the most lived-in room of the house; and our grill is grilling a lot more than the rest of the year. This is, definitely, our favorite time of the year. And it makes us wonder why we don’t live in a warmer climate 12 months of the year. Anyway… the real kick off to summer is when we start hanging out with friends on weekend afternoons, sipping margaritas, and husking corn. Our favorite family, the Petsch Crew, came over on Saturday and we did just that. Man, do we love them. And man, oh man, the kids were so dang cute getting the corn ready to cook. With two sets of boy-boy twins (K&O, Christian&Luis), a go-getter girl (Zoe), and a now toddling baby (M), we four “grown ups” have our hands full when we get together. But after a couple of Braydon’s true-Mexico-margs, and some of Shelli’s bean dip… all is good. Of course, as usual, Lori posted to her blog before I got to ours. 😉 See her post here.

Meera’s birthday is right at the height of strawberry season in the mid-Atlantic states. In the days surrounding her first birthday this year we ate quarts upon quarts of strawberries from our local farms. Meera’s birthday also coincides with the blooming of pink rose bushes in our yard. MorMor picked perfect pink roses for Meera’s birthday.
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And Meera Grace wore perfect little pink ballet shoes for her special day.
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Everyone she loves most was here to celebrate Meera’s first birthday. Her Godmother, Beth, came from Connecticut. She arrived on Wednesday afternoon and played with Meera in the sandbox on her birthday eve (and Beth was absolutely dismayed by Meera’s eating of sand!). MorMor and MorFar had already arrived for the festivities on Tuesday afternoon.
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Meera’s birthday began with her waking up to her first end-of-the-bed present. Kyle and Owen were so excited for Meera’s birthday that they were up bright and early at 5:45 ready to get the party started (!). They waited patiently, listening closely to the baby monitor for the cooing and babbling sounds of their baby Little Miss awaking. And then, when they finally heard her, they were super excited to go into her room and greet her in her crib singing ‘Happy Birthday to You.’
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The end-of-the-bed present was a nice wooden shape-sorting toy.
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We all gathered in the playroom bright and early for Meera to open her gifts from MorMor and MorFar and Beth. Lately Little Miss seems especially fond of her MorFar.
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From MorMor and MorFar, the perfectly precisely perfect present for Meera right now– as soon as it was out of the box she was on her way! And she’s been cruising along with her “cart!” ever since.
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The box the “cart” came in was then used over and over and over as a ‘jackS in the box’ box… MorFar ‘wound it up’ and the big brothers ‘popped’ out… repeatedly. This was, supposedly, for the entertainment of the Birthday Girl… but the Birthday Girl was actually far off in the distance roaming around the house with her cart.
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Kyle makes sure that everything is just so for his sister’s birthday breakfast. Late the night before I had made strawberry muffins for the morning…
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…and of course we sang Happy Birthday to Little Miss at the breakfast table, with one pink candle in her strawberry muffin.
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After her morning nap the Birthday Girl, in all her finery, played with her cart and got lots of undivided attention — a rare treat — while her brothers were off at school.
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I don’t think I’ve ever thought she was cuter than I did on her birthday.
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Margie was with us to celebrate Meera’s birthday. It would not have felt right for her to not be here — she is such a huge part of Meera’s life. Meera was in her glory surrounded by so much love.
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Meera’s present from Mommy and Papi.
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I had taken Kyle and Owen to a toy store on Sunday so that they could each get a birthday gift for their sister. They both insisted on the same thing: a jack-in-the-box. So, for her first birthday Meera got two jack-in-the-boxes from her two brothers. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of them at first (the brothers’ enthusiasm for winding them up and jumping/screaming/wildly-laughing-and-hurling-their-bodies-all-about as the ‘jacks’ pop out of the ‘boxes’ is a bit much for anyone to take)… but she quickly did warm up to them and the jack in the boxes are growing on her (especially when she gets to play with them by herself while her brothers are nowhere nearby).
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All set for the “Birthday Party.” Kyle and Owen like to hear the stories of how their first birthday was so similar to Meera’s: a sweet, sweet little ‘party’ lunch for just us, their MorMor and MorFar, and their godparents. Meera’s day was so similar, and yet also so perfectly just-for-her too. Meera inspires sweetness and light– we had lots of pink balloons and a simple day. For Meera’s Birthday lunch we had rotisserie chickens we cooked on our grill, a pesto pasta salad loaded with fresh veggies that Margie made in our kitchen that morning, and a big caesar salad. Dessert was vanilla cake layered with custard and fresh strawberries and whipped cream.
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It is hard to believe that a year ago Meera Grace came into our lives. It has flown by way too fast. And even though it has only been one year, it is truly hard to imagine life without her. I know everybody says that about their kids, but really, it is true; we feel it. We adore this girl so, so much. And she is such a core part of our family now.
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It is even harder to believe that this little perfect person came directly from us, and literally came out of me. As an adoptive mom, this past couple of years (pregnancy, labor, childbirth, nursing, having a ‘biological child’) has been so full of brand new intensity for me. I look at Meera and I see the resemblance. That is new for me. And I also see Meera Grace, uniquely herself — which is not new for me. It is all so rich and full and real. I try to savor every single second. I try to hold on to every moment. I am so deeply grateful for the past year of seconds and moments with this awesome sweet and light little soul, Meera Grace. Happy Birthday Sweetness.

A Little Bit from the Blog: Meera’s First 12 Months~~

• Meera’s Born
• Meera’s First 60 Hours
• Meera Comes Home
• Meera’s First Week Home
• Meera 3 Weeks Old
• Meera 4 Weeks Old
• Meera 1 Month Old
  
• Meera 5 Weeks Old
• Meera 6 Weeks Old
• Meera 12 Weeks Old
• Meera 4 Months Old
• Meera 5 Months Old
• Meera 6 Months Old
• Meera 7 Months Old
• Meera 8 Months Old
• Meera 9 Months Old
• Meera 10 Months Old
• Meera 11 Months Old
• Happy 1st Birthday Meera Grace & Meera’s First Cake

My little baby is one. Not 11 months, not 12 months; one. Really, she’s just a day older than she was yesterday, but some how one is different.  She’s gone from being our baby, to becoming our little girl.

Dear Our Dear Blog Reader Jenn,
I’ve never even met you in real life, but one year ago you were helping me with info about natural labor and delivery. And today, a year later, I can officially announce that you are the proud winner of the “Guess Where We Were” contest! We were in Mexico. Just south of Playa del Carmen for the second part of our trip. The first part was on the Gulf side of the Yucatan. You’re a real winner in our book! 😉
Heather