Book Smart

Beginning the day Ryan and I found out what gender our baby was going to be on Nov. 13th, 2009 I have been writing letters and collecting memorabilia about everything related to Dax. The letters are addressed to him and the artifacts range from a paper containing every family member's guess on his birth weight and height to his doctor visit growth charts to the first picture he and I ever colored.

Ultimately I plan on presenting these in scrapbook form to him and his future wife when they are expecting their first child- I also plan to do this for each of my children. I think it might be an unique way of providing advice and first hand insight on special moments shared between me and my babies that I won't be able to relate so well 20+ years later.

Up until this week I have simply been gathering the letters and artifacts in several boxes, kind of in chronological order, under my bed. Then, on Monday evening I decided to begin a venture in SCRAPBOOKING!

The kitchen was a disaster! Papers, pictures, scissors, books, plastic covers, glue, scraps, stickers, and boxes littered my kitchen table and stools until yesterday evening. I am not saying that I gave up on the scrapbook, but I realized that it will not be conquered in a week- as I initially thought- and it was a severe safety hazard for such things to be out in the open with that busybody toddler of mine. (We did keep the kitchen well cordoned off from his curious, grabby hands but it became too much of a battle.) Thus, the scrapbook materials were neatly and safely put away in their boxes and reappear each night as I continue my hand at scrapbooking!

A consistent theme each night as I dig through the pictures, letters, and artifacts is one of nostalgia. Don't get me wrong, I love my little family today and am still amazed by my son and his development. However, I miss my new, tiny, helpless baby. The one that would actually snuggle with me for hours, the one that depended on me for sustenance, the one whose eyes would grow wide and whose mouth would turn up each and every time I spoke or sung to him, and I also miss that little baby who was also willing to snuggle with his other family members.

Nowadays, Dax only snuggles with me when he is sick or drinking on his sippy, he won't eat anything I try to feed him- he has to rip it from my hand and feed himself- he still lights up every time he sees me in the morning and after work, however, he refuses to leave my side for a minimum of thirty minutes whenever we are around other people. I love that he is growing and becoming more and more capable of informing me on his desires and problems, however, I can tell that the toddler years are going to be tough around the Matthews' household. Wish me luck, both in the scrapbooking and toddler department.