Happy Birthday, Danny

It happened. My baby turned into a kid. My sweet lovable little boy is growing up before my eyes.

Our first picture together. . .

April 16th, 2010

You are the love of my life, my little buddy and the apple of my eye. I cannot imagine my life without you, little Danny boy. You are so independent and sweet. You want to do everything yourself, but will run to me for kisses and hugs at the drop of a hat. You make everyone laugh. All. Day. Long.

Danny and Brayden, March 2012.

I love how you follow your big cousin, Alexis, around and think you are just as old as she is.
I love how you love your baby cousin, Brayden. You are so sweet with him, it doesn't matter that he doesn't have a big brother, I know you will take it upon yourself to make sure no one messes with him.

February 2012

I love how much you love to eat, just like your dad. You act just like your dad too, which makes it hard to ever be mad at either of you. You love the silliest TV shows, you imitate every wild and farm animal. You even have your dads humor, making fun of people when they sneeze.

April 2012

You have brought so much joy to us, but also to your aunts and uncles and Grandparents. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world when I see how close you and MY Grandpa are. It is so sweet to see you take his hand and show him the way around his own back yard.

2nd birthday cake

Danny, you have given my life new meaning. No one is ever the same after the have kids, and I am thankful for that. You have given me the gift of a mothers love. I cannot wait to watch you continue to grow up and discover new things I can't wait to see you with your baby brother or sister, he/she is going to be in for it!

Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born.

Happy Birthday Daniel Thomas Bray Rice

HOLY HEARTBURN

I experienced HOLY HEARTBURN while I was pregnant with Danny, beginning around month six. Well I am in month four right now and ohmygosh I want to cry. I finally gave in and bought some Zantac today, but it has not kicked in yet. Ok, maybe I only took it 20 minutes ago, but I need instant gratification. I seriously feel like my whole throat is on fire.

I might be turning into a fire breathing dragon or something. How is it possible for it to hurt this bad??

And isn't there a rumor that dairy should help calm heartburn because of the calcium? Well I just ate a yogurt and it TRIGGERED the damn heartburn. WAAAAHHHH. I can't help but feel sorry for myself. It is going to be a very long five months if I can't control this (I couldn't last time). I have already cut out most bread like food (causes heartburn for me while not pregnant), because of my desperate attempt to avoid gestational diabetes, so I'm not sure what else to do.

So far this baby has caused me to have terrible morning sickness, high school like skin issues, and now heartburn. Did I mention I am only in my fourth month? SMH. This child HAS to be a girl, a boy would never cause so much trouble. . .

The Animal Lover

My little monster love is a complete lover of the animals. There is nothing he likes more than to go for a walk in our neighborhood and see all the dogs who are out for walks. I know our neighbors dogs names, my neighbors know my sons name. He loves cats, dogs, cows, horses, fish, sheep, lions and anything else you could think of.

He would LOVE to have a dog, or a cat. Whenever we mention going to visit his Uncle Bri Bri (who has two dogs and two cats) he says "Arf, meow, meow." It is all he cares about, who has a pet, and when can he play with the pet. My husband and I are adamant about NOT getting a dog until we own our own house. We both hate cats (I love kittens, cats are just sneaky), I would deal with a cat for Danny, because he would LOVE it, but my husband wont budge on the subject.

So until we own a home (hopefully in two years), we will take him for walks to see the dogs, visit friends with pets and frequent the fish section of our local pet shop.

Danny admiring all the "Nemos"

He is so happy!

 

This kid is so cute when he is around animals (yes, I now consider a fish an animal). He is going to be so extremely delighted when his Grandmother gives hims a fish for his birthday. I would bet everything I own that we will be calling that fish "Nemo."

The Roller Coaster

My life raising a two-year-old (almost) is one big roller coaster. There are about a hundred different ups and downs, and that is before lunch, on a good day. I am amazed, almost daily how erratic the behavior of a young child can be. And even more I am amazed at how I can go from feeling totally normal to feeling like I am drowning in a sea of terrible mom-hood in the flash of a toddler mood swing. I usually have it all together pretty well, so it is pretty shocking that a three(ish) foot kid who can't even put sentences together can put me into a tailspin.

This morning was a perfect example of the above. It seemed like a normal morning, other than the fact that we had an extra hour before having to leave the house. Danny was watching cartoons while I got breakfast ready, our extra hour was allowing me to make eggs for both of us, a hot breakfast during the week, imagine that! Little Danny-do did NOT approve of me being in the kitchen instead of sitting with him on the couch. He was a hot mess. Pushing me away from the stove, trying to pull my pants down, kicking, screaming and being a nasty little boy. Many more tears, a time out, and a spanking later he decided to leave me alone, while we were both in tears he watched cartoons and I finished making breakfast.

We sat and ate together, at the table. He had big tears still on his cheek, and I felt like a pathetic excuse for a mother. We continued to go about our morning playing and getting ready for school/the babysitter. The worst part of the day is when I have to leave him with the sitter, he always cries when I leave, and I am left feeling like a selfish mom for leaving him so I can go to school. The whole drive to campus is spent beating myself up for having such a terrible morning with him, then dropping him at the sitters and going about my day.

I tell myself that this will all go away when I graduate and am home with him. All he needs is consistency during the day, right? Probably not. As my good friend Lydia tells me " I'm home 24/7 and have plenty of consistency and still have very bad days." I know that me being home with my son isn't going to magically change our world, I know we will still have bad days, but I hope that I feel less guilt about them because I don't have to leave him after a terrible morning.


I have been told to "get over it," the terrible feeling that I have when I leave my child. I have been told that "everyone has to leave their kids, it is part of life." I know that is true for many, and I know people who wouldn't have it any other way. I have a good friend who admits that she HAS to go to work because she would go nuts if she didn't. Every mom is different, some are made to me working moms, some are made to be stay at home moms. And some moms are made to do one thing but forced to do the other. We are all special in our own way, just like our kids.


But for me, there is nothing else. There is nothing I would rather be doing than staying home and raising my kids. There is nothing that I am as good at, and there is nothing I care about enough to feel that it is a valuable trade. Every day when I leave Danny to go to school I think about my working mom friends and I am amazed at what they do. Not only do they work in stressful careers all day, but they come home and do it all for their kids. Those women I truly admire, because I don't know how they do it (and they look so good doing it). 


My only hope is that the negativity that has been shown to me for being a stay at home mom will not reflect onto my children. I hope they always know that I GOT to stay home, not that I HAD to. 

So how did our day end? Beautifully. Danny took a bath without screaming, which is our of the ordinary for him these days. We read played and read stories, then gave kisses and hugs before bedtime. The roller coaster continues on, but it sure is a fun ride.

Forgive me if I have done this before. . .

Age when I got pregnant: 22

Age when I gave birth: 22

When I found out: August 14th, 2009.

Did I find out the sex: No, we wanted to be surprised!

Birth partner: My husband, Stephen.

Due date: April 24th, 2010.

Birth date: April 16th, 2010-induction.

Location of delivery: Yuma Regional Medical Center

Labor time: 36 hours-fun!

Type of delivery: Vaginal

Pain relieve: Epidural

Time of delivery: 8:21 pm

Weight: 7lbs 6oz

Sex: Boy

Full name: Daniel Thomas Bray Rice