Dear Son,

This week, while you have been excited about your future birthday presents, you have also repeatedly let me know that you don’t want to be six.

Maybe you are worried that you won’t be my baby anymore.  Or maybe you have realized how fast time really is, and you just want to stay little a little longer.

I’m not sure what has been going on in your head this week, but I do know what’s been going on in mine.

I am in awe of you.

This past year you have grown so much.

Yes, you have almost reached the same height of your older sister.  And you outweigh her by several pounds now.

But it’s more than that.

When I look at this picture of you from the first day of church school, I am amazed by how you have grown.  That day you walked to your classroom like you were walking to a death sentence.  Over the weeks you slowly grew more confident.  You stopped needing your headphones.  You couldn’t wait to whisper to me about what you had done when you met me at the door.  And when your teacher pulled me aside and told me you had participated in a game of “Duck, Duck, Goose,”  I couldn’t help the tears.  Through all the years of library story times and other outings, you had never played with the other kids.

But this year, you did.

I’m told you also sang during one of the last classes, and even did the hand motions to the song.  Oh, how I wish I had seen that!

Today you didn’t hesitate to play at the park, even though there were 6 other kids already there playing.  A year ago that wouldn’t have happened.

if you make a letter wrong on your paper now, you try to correct it.  A year ago a simple mistake like that would have sent you running from the room to hide under your bed.

When there’s a bump in your sock, or your shoe doesn’t feel right, now you just take it off and try to fix it yourself.  A year ago you would have thrown your shoe across the room, and you couldn’t get your toes in the sock by yourself.

This year you have begun to read!  Seeing the pride on your face as you sound out the words, that is priceless to me.

You climb, you jump, you try new things…  This year I’ve seen your confidence increase as you’ve discovered just what you really can do.

I look forward to seeing what new things you learn this year.

You see, being six is a wonderful age, sweet boy.

It’s an age full of imagination, with dragons to fight and rockets to fly.

It’s an age of reading about your favorite animals and driving Hot Wheels on the back of the couch and building blanket forts in the living room.

It’s an age of discovery:  finding new things you can do, exploring new places

Six is a wonderful age.

And so is seven, and eight and nine…

And no matter how old you are, you will always be my baby.

And I will always love you.

Love,

Mommy

The post An Open Letter to My Son on His Birthday first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

My son loves dragons.  For his dragon themed birthday party I had fun creating a DIY Dragon Pinata.  But his favorite part was this easy to make dragon cake. 

Looking to make your own dragon cake to devour?

DIY Dragon Cake Directions

To make the dragon cake I used 2 cake mixes.  I used one mix to make a round bunt cake.  The other mix I divided, making one pan of cupcakes (12) and one mini loaf cake.

Once the cakes were completely cooled, I cut the bunt cake in half, and then cut one of the halves in half again.  I arranged them on a large cookie sheet as seen in the picture.

I then cut 4 cupcakes into crescents to form legs/feet for the dragon cake.  These were placed along the dragon’s body.

Now our dragon needed a neck and head.  For this I used the mini loaf cake, cutting it as shown in the picture below.

The cake really starts to look like a dragon once you start getting the icing on it.

I bought 2 cans of icing, allowing me to put on a thick coat to cover up any uneven areas, etc.  I wound up using 1 1/2 cans of the icing, freezing the rest to use at a later date.

Using a dab of icing between pieces helped to hold the whole thing together while spreading icing over the surface.  Once the cake was completely covered I used my knife to make swirls to give it a look of scales.

Orange jelly beans became toe nails for each foot, while 2 black jelly beans formed nostrils.  I cut a marshmallow in half, using a knife to cut a small hole in the center of each half and sticking another black jelly bean in each to form eyes.

Finally the dragon needed wings.  I decided to use 2 large waffle cookies for our wings.

ROAR!!

And, of course, the dragon HAD to breathe fire!

If you choose to make yours a fire-breathing dragon cake, too, be sure to put a glass cutting board or other heat-resistant board underneath to catch the dripping wax!

My son loved his dragon themed birthday party, especially this easy to make dragon cake.

If you like this cake idea, you may want to also check out:

•  Teapot Cake
•  Car Cake
• Tractor Cake and Tipping Tractor Cupcakes
• Darth Vader Cake

The post Easy DIY Dragon Cake first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

Today’s Thankful Thursday post is based on a prompt from Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop:  Tell us about the story of your birth.

With my son’s 4th birthday this week, I’m turning the prompt to the day of his birth and his entry into our family, a day I am forever thankful for.

***

“You look a lot slower today,” my mom said when she met my daughter and I outside the doctor’s office that day.  Holding the hand of my 19 month toddling little girl, I looked up as we slowly made our way toward her, and smiled.

“Yes, I have to say he is making it a little hard to walk lately,” was my breathy response as we entered into the building.  To say it was hard to walk was an understatement; that little one had been so far down for the last month or so that it wasn’t just hard to walk, it was hard to sit, or do pretty much anything.

I was scheduled for my weekly ultrasound, something we’d been doing  the last couple months.  As of yet he hadn’t let us see his face, or given us any indication if the doctor’s concerns were warranted or not.  And, at this point, I was pretty sure we wouldn’t get any answers until he entered the world.

This time around he wouldn’t do the “practice breathing” that babies are supposed to do at that stage.  The doctor assured me it was probably nothing, but she wanted me to go next door to the hospital for closer monitoring for a bit.

I sent my mom out to lunch with my daughter and headed to the hospital.

That’s when they told me I was having contractions every 3 minutes and was 4.5 cm dilated.  (I am pretty sure my doctor HAD to have known that!)

My first response?

Seriously?  This rocks!  With our first child I had been induced, and the 19 hours seemed to drag on quite painfully… If I was already 4.5 cm and didn’t even know I was in labor, this was going to be cake walk!

I called my mom and told her what was going on.  (So thankful she met me at the doctor’s that day!)  And then I waited for my husband to arrive so I could tell him the news.

I was so laid back about it all, that once we got a room, I told my husband to go get some dinner.

It was all going good, until the doctor suggested breaking my water.

“Do you want an epidural before we do this?”

I laughed.  The contractions were so mild compared to the ones I had had with Pitocin, that I figured we should just go for it.

It took about 2 contractions after that before I looked at my husband and said, “Maybe I’d like that epidural after all…”

The nurse came in, told me that the anesthesiologist was with another patient at the moment, and then she checked my progress.

“10 cm, this baby is coming, now — you don’t have time for an epidural.”

Things are pretty much a blur after that.  My original doctor had gone to deliver twins, so a doctor I’d never seen before came in and said she was going to deliver.

I closed my eyes during a contraction, opened them, and my original doctor had returned and was telling me to push.

Unlike my daughter’s entry into the world, my son was silent.  I got him on my chest for just a moment, long enough to see that he was definitely bigger than his sister’s 5.5 pounds.  Then they whisked him away to get him to take a breath.

His entry into the world was so fast, we were both in shock.

The two hours he was in the nursery being monitored and getting extra oxygen crawled by.  When they finally brought him back, I counted every finger and every toe.  “You’ve got little monkey feet!” I remember saying when I saw how far apart his little toes spread out.  (Yes, that’s how he got his nickname here on the blog!)

Life has never been the same since that day, and I am forever grateful.

***

You’re turn!

Leave a comment telling me what you are thankful for this week!

Have your own thankful post?  Or maybe a birth story you want to share?  Link it up below!

Linked up this week with Six by the Bay, Lovely Little Whimsy, The Fontenon Four, Heavenly Homemakers

The post Birth Story — Thankful Thursday first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

The morning started with my 5 year-old making me breakfast (peanut butter toast) and my 3 year-old asking where Mommy’s birthday cake was, because, after all, he wanted to make sure I shared it!

I’ve mentioned a few times how my husband is the real baker in the family…  His brownies are the best I’ve ever tasted, and each year for my birthday he makes this awesome four layer Black Forest cake with cherries and delicious chocolate goodness in each bite.

This year, though, my daughter informed him that Mommy wanted a lemon cake.  (I think I might have mentioned to her a few weeks ago that my mom always made a lemon cake for my birthday when I was younger.)

After a run to the grocery store, he was back and baking…

The smell of lemon as he used the zester (I didn’t even know we had one!) kept me in the kitchen; it was like a touch of spring in the middle of winter.

With cakes to bake, filling to prepare, and homemade icing (seriously, he makes me feel inadequate when it comes to baking), he was in the kitchen most of the morning and into the afternoon.

But in the end?

There was a beautiful, 4 layer lemon cake, complete with cherries for decoration.

***

This week marks not only my birthday, but the anniversary of There’s Just One Mommy, too!  I want to thank each and every one of you for being there during the journey these past two years.  I treasure the friendships I’ve made through blogging, and I look forward to continuing the journey with you all.

Want a recap of the past 2 years?  Here are a few of our top posts (according to Google Analytics):

• Activities for Toddlers/Preschoolers  While Traveling in the Car / Which Car Activities Worked
• Cat in the Hat Craft
• Making a Sand Castle Cake
• Hand Print Sheep Craft
• My Confession

The post A Birthday and an Anniversary first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

How is it possible that you will be turning 5 in a week?

You hear it over and over when you are pregnant, “Just wait and see, the time is going to fly by.”  You nod your head and you think, you THINK, you know what they mean, but you don’t.  Not really.  It isn’t until you are a parent that you fully understand what they mean. 

I swear one day you were swaddled in my arms, and the next you were climbing the television stand.  I blinked and you were writing your name and turning awkward cartwheels in the living room.

I want to hold on to you, tighter, keep time from moving.  But I know that is impossible.

I love you.

I have not said that nearly enough.  Have not hugged you all the times that I should have.  

I’m scared by how fast you are growing up.  Part of me fears that it is my fault in some way that you are so independent.  That you’ve become that way because I’ve not met some need. 

And part of me is proud.  Proud to see you hug your little brother when he’s sad, hear you tell him the same words I’ve said to you. 

You have no idea how much you have changed my world.  How much you have taught me. 

But that’s not the point right now.  Right now I’m just trying to wrap my head around the fact that my baby will be turning 5.  

I hope all your wishes come true, my little Peanut.

Mommy loves you.

The post A Letter to My Daughter first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.

But I’m happy to say things turned around.

Even though the cake was falling apart (I should have put it in the freezer before icing it!), it all worked out – after all, it was a construction cake!  (Last year’s was a car cake – see a theme?)

Monkey got to open presents from Mommy, Daddy, and big sister before the party festivities began.  He loved the pirate ship!  (A super great find at a consignment shop – all parts there and an extra set of pirate sea animals all for 6 bucks!)

Thinking back to what I learned from a birthday party, the kids and I had colored and cut out construction trucks from coloring books earlier this week  to use in a craft/game when the party started while we waited for all the guests to arrive.

The activity?

Help decorate for the party!

I was kept plenty busy sticking tape on the back of pictures for little ones to stick anywhere they wanted – cabinets, doors, walls, lamp shades…  They did a great job decorating!  (Little ones love anything having to do with tape, and when they feel they are really helping, all the better!)

Once all the guests arrived it was time for lunch. (Thank you to my husband, who cooked out in the rain!)  And, of course, more presents…  I have to say he loved everything he got.

A friend of mine sent up a tool bench, complete with all its original tools, that her sons no longer use.  And with it, was this handy-dandy little number…

That, dear readers, is a toy blow torch.  No kidding – who would have guessed that there is such a thing???  It lights up, makes an obnoxious noise, and vibrates.  What more could a 3 year-old little boy want?

Cake!

Yes, being 3 today did not make him any more patient than when he was 2.  It was definitely cake time.

I want to send a big shout out to a friend of mine who helped keep kids entertained and wiped black icing from my son’s fingers when I sat down to try a piece of the cake.  Everyone needs someone like that at their kid’s birthday party!

Finally, after everyone went home and dinner was done, it was time for bed.

My big 3 year-old asked me to rock him.  How could I resist?  I rocked him for a while and sang some old favorites.  Then he climbed into bed and fell asleep holding on to the sleeve of my pajamas while I stroked his hair and hummed his lullaby.

That, dear reader, was the perfect ending to the day.

The post My Little Boy Turned 3 first appeared on There's Just One Mommy.