Drinking in the Moments in Life

So much happens so fast! Can you believe that Nora will be 12 weeks on Jan. 2? 3 months old!! Can you believe there are only 5 weeks until Gavin's second birthday? Can you believe that I'll be 31 on Saturday? WOW!! Life flies by and I think that you have heard me say before that if we can drink in the moments in life, then we can smile everyday and enjoy our family, friends, and life.

What is a moment? A moment can be a split second like a pretty smile from your daughter or it can be the non-stop hour and a half of constant Christmas wrapping paper tear and bow throwing and hear Gavin say 100 times, "Nother one…". He so enjoyed the thrill of the hunt for the next box to unwrap and seeing what was inside. He opened all of his gifts, all of Nora's and most of everyone else's. It wasn't about being needy or selfish, it was pure bliss in seeing wrapping paper fly. After that hour and half passed, he was emotionally and physical drained. The poor guy sat in his chair with his juice cup and stared into space. He refused to open anything until post-nap that afternoon.

Moments are our memories, they are the things we hold close to our heart. Having a child see the wonder of Christmas and have the excitement and joy that was so pure and so honest makes Christmas all so enjoyable. Ever hear a near-two year old sing Happy Birthday? How about Happy Birthday Baby Jesus? So sweet.

As it turns out, my daughter is so much like me. Her top moment for me during the Christmas season is a series of moments. She LOVES the tree. She loves to look at the lights and the ornaments. I've always called it tree basking. I love to sit in the dark, except for the tree lights and just bask in the glow. Makes me warm and happy and allows me to remember Christmas moments gone past. I like to add to that list all the time. Nora is headed down that road already. She enjoyed the tree a lot and I look forward to remembering her moments and passing on this tradition to her.

The whole year was full of great moments and many of them firsts.
1. Jan - First vacation without Gavin, 4 whole days! Great skiing in Tahoe with Pete.
2. Feb - Gavin's first birthday, digging icing out of his nose. And then discovering Nora's pregnancy…yes, a sibling for Gavin.
4. Mar - A great visit to CT. Time spent with family and a little boy well traveled.
5. Apr - Break out the shorts, pack away the coats…bring on summer. Seeing Gavin walk out on to the deck for the first. Time. He had learned to walk in December and was inside bound all winter…and now his world was so much bigger. A back yard, a driveway to play too!
6. May - Dude! Gavin learns his first piece of slang. His speech and vocabulary begin the exponential climb to hundreds of words, phrases and now sentences.
7. Jun - Gavin using his spoon all by himself…big boy syndrome continues.
8. Jul - Speedo baby or was it the blues brothers baby? I loved seeing him love the pool and swimming and putting him in his Speedo was great.
9. Aug - Watching Gavin be fearless in the pool. He loved the baby pool in FL on vacation. He was a wild man. Doing butt smackers in the pool and laughing all the while. Oh, and eating turtle food while feeding water turtles kibble. Priceless.
10. Sept - Pregnancy is coming to a end…I'm miserable. Everyday was a challenge but a joy to enjoy Gavin as he turned into a big boy before my eyes.
11. Oct - Nora's birth and arrival into the Vitale family. Gavin meeting his sister and loving her for her gift to him…Grave Digger monster truck.
12. Nov - First outing with both kids by myself, WOW, I'm a mother of two.

I look forward to the new year and I'm as ready as I can be to return to work (1/3) and I hope that Nora is ready to begin her journey at school. I'll keep you posted. Best wishes, blessings to all and Happy New Year.