Christmases Past, Routine, Birthday Boy, and You Again.

Christmases Past:

On Vash's first Christmas Eve he didn't sleep at all. He wanted to be home in his bed. But we were in Queen Creek having a few different Christmas parties. First at my parents home, then at my cousin's home, the back at my parents but with my Grandparents there too. It was a fun but long day and Vash passed out in the car on the way home. Our truck bed was literally full of toys. ( I remember my sister got a "wreck this journal" and we tied it to a string and walked it from my parent's home to my cousin's. LOL.)  The next day we went to Nana and Papa's house where Vash crawled madly to try and keep up with the cousin brothers. He got more gifts but fell asleep in Nana's arms at some point. We played a game where we tried to balance the stacking rings on our head. Vash wanted to play too and laughed a lot when he knew he had a ring on his head like Daddy and the cousin brothers. Last year I was super pregnant and did almost nothing. We didn't go out to Queek Creek because I was so far along and so dilated that my Doctor told me not to be more than 15 minutes from the hospital. But we did have my grandparents and parents and uncle over for Christmas day to visit and exchange gifts. But it ended up being more watching Vash open gifts than anything else and I felt so bad that everyone else was gift-less. Hopefully that will be rectified some Christmas in the future. And we were also at Nana and Papa's for a while too. We bring stories to Papa every year as his gift. They can be memories or made up, whatever we like. I wrote a poem about being pregnant and sang it to the tune of "A few of my favorite things." I have to say it was hilarious, and probably the best thing I've written so far. Vash was a expert present opener at that point and tore through everything. I remember Doug, our brother in law, was in Iraq that Christmas and we had him on Skype so he could watch his boys open their gifts. I remember Kristen crying and saying that they hadn't planned on coming but Polar Express had changed her mind and she wanted to be with family for Christmas. I know Vash was happy to have his favorite play mates around. And Craig and I were happy because he always sleep so soundly after running around with his cousins. I remember them coming to the hospital when Rhyla was born, on their last day in Arizona, and wanting to stay one more day to visit with their new cousin a little longer.

Routine:
Vash is a boy of routine. He wont sleep at night unless we've done everything in order, and everything is in place. Bedtime routine begins with family scripture study and prayer. Then he gives kisses to me and Rhyla and Craig takes him to brush his teeth. Then he hops into bed and has to have his binky, a sippy cup with water, his winnie the pooh blanket, which he calls "TuKu," and whatever his favorite toy it at the time. He lines all those things up along the side of his bed, we cover him with his Toy Story comforter, (It can't be any other blanket) then we ask him what color he wants his turtle light to be. He always wants purple. So with everything in order, Craig kisses him goodnight and he "goes to sleep." Once the door is shut, he gets out of bed, turns on the light, plays with previously stated toy, reads himself a book or two and falls asleep an hour or so later. It's always the same and Vash wont have it any other way. I wonder what will happen when he had to share a room someday?

Birthday boy:

Vash's first birthday was a little hard for me. I was pregnant and sick, and my first baby was turning a year old. I almost cried when we sang Happy birthday. He was so big! Walking, running even, saying words. Eating a cake all by himself. Well, just the icing really. He's always been more interested in the icing than the actual cake. We had everyone over for a potluck style lunch. Pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, salsa and chips, corn bread, potato salad... just mountains and mountains of food. My grandmother made a small cake for Vash to destroy and a large bear cake for all the guests. They were almost too cute to eat. We played outside in the sprinklers until everyone was soaked. Vash stood right in a spray of water, laughing and laughing. My mom was afraid he was going to get cold and sick even though it was 104* outside. We opened gifts, but Vash  didn't really know how to open them himself so most of the older kids took turns opening the gits for him. He shared so well, and I wonder sometimes where that little boy went when he takes things from his sister and yells "MINE!" Just a two year old thing, I guess.
Some of my most vivid memories are the first times I saw my babies. I remember everything about those two moments. The color of their skin, the looks on their faces, the way their cries sounded... the lighting in the hospital room, and how tired I felt but how happy I was when they handed me my infant. Vash stopped crying as soon as he heard Craig's voice. The nurse had to rub on his legs to get him crying again so she could do the Apgar score. (Cant give a score on the lungs if you can hear how they work, can you?) It's interesting to have such a distinct memory of Vash as a new born and then look at him now. Listening to him tell stories, watching him color and solve puzzles. Seeing him praise Rhyla for her accomplishments. "So big, Ya-Ya! YEY!!!!" It hasn't gone by quickly, despite what people say. But it seems like a miraculous change for just 2 1/2 years.

You Again:

We didn't know what Vash was going to think when he saw Rhyla for the first time. Would he be confused? Jealous? Disinterested? We thought it might take some time for him to realize that she belonged to us, to him, and that she was always going to be around from now on. But we never imagined that he would just love her from the start. He walked in and without the slightest hesitation, hopped onto my lap and smiled at Rhyla, who was in my other arm. He looked at everyone proudly, like he was saying "this is my sister". He kissed her and they looked at each other. From this experience I know now, more than  ever, that there was a pre-mortal existence. We were all together, preparing to live on Earth. I know that Vash wasn't confused or upset by the arrival of his new sibling because he wasn't meeting her for the first time. He was just saying, "Hey, it's you again!"