1, 2, 3, 4............

I’m proud to say that I have survived the last four years and two months. 

It has been far from easy, but I am here, and I am happy. Canyon has given me more joy than I could have ever asked for. 

Canyon’s first year was amazing. I got to see him hit all of his milestones, and grow, and all of his firsts. 

Again, amazing. 

He is so stinking smart. I loved spending my days with him and playing with him all day, every day. I loved maintaining our townhouse and being a mommy. It was my job; the most important job.

I’m not sure if it is how I was raised or just my natural way of feeling, but I want to be the mommy and the woman that maintains all of the “womanly” duties. Actually, I love it. It makes me feel great. I love cleaning, cooking, picking up Canyon’s toys a million times a day, making our beds, grocery shopping, etc. I was meant to do those things. I really, can honestly say that I enjoy doing all these things.

Strange?

Hmm, maybe to other women. But, I am not a woman to completely give up the INDEPENDENT person that I am to do all these things. That’s what makes it so great.

I am a very strong woman. I am the DO IT ALL—ALL BY MYSELF type. 

Sometimes, the anxiety takes over and I start feeling overwhelmed, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Dale is great. He helps a lot. I can never complain of him not doing enough because, sometimes, when he tries to help, I refuse. Sometimes, I would just rather do things myself. All I have to do is ASK Dale to help me with something and he is more than willing to do it. 

I have a lot of respect for Dale & he has a lot of respect for me. That’s helpful in our relationship.

Now, I work full-time. My son is four. He is starting pre-school next month. He is able to tell me about his day. He is a big boy. I can’t say that him being four years old makes anything easier, but it does help me to sort of “let go” and allow him to grow up a little and enjoy going to school, and playing with his friends. He has TWO best friends—a boy and a girl. He talks about them constantly and it is the absolute cutest thing.

With each age, we are faced with new parenting challenges. I’ve survived the terrible two’s, and the dreadful three’s—which are wayyyyyyy worse than the terrible two’s, by the way. Now, I am in the fantastic four’s—as I like to call it. Even though Canyon can be hard-headed (which he gets EQUALLY from Dale & I), he is an amazing kid.

He has his moments-mostly when he doesn’t have a nap. But, for the majority of the time, he is well-behaved and uses his manors wonderfully. We get to have conversations, and I get to teach him new things. We get to go places as a family and take our time and enjoy outings WITHOUT bottles, diapers, and all the other things you have to carry around when you have baby. 

 I try to keep snack and toys, mainly cars, in my purse. Canyon is wild. There is no helping that. He’s four. He’s allowed to be wild. But, with the help of snacks and small toys, outings are much more enjoyable, especially when he is on the brink of a breakdown.  

He is also obsessed with my Ipod. He loves the games, but he is also a little music buff. You should see his dance moves –VIDEO COMING SOON. He puts the earphones in his ears and his head is bobbing the WHOLE time. He jams out…just like his mommy. 

What can I say? 

The past four years have gone by fairly quickly—bittersweet. But, I really look forward to seeing Canyon grow up. I am signing him up for SOCCER. Whoo. He is going to love it. I can’t wait. It’s the beginning of many sporting events. I’ve waited for this for FOUR years. 

Life is good right now. Each day is a blessing.