Tomorrow will be my first Mother's Day as a mom. In the US, this holiday is in May which seems a bit more sensible--we just had Valentine's Day, we're in the middle of Lent, and St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner. Plus, May is devoted to Mary, the ultimate mom who raised our Saviour.
At the beginning (on October 4th), I didn't feel worthy of the 'mom' title since I really had no experience in mothering. Now I feel comfortable with the name and somewhat worthy of the title; although I feel there are definitely 'degrees of motherhood.' For instance, raising one baby for five months is much different than taking care of five children, sending them to daycare and school, and helping them navigate their way through their own lives. Whichever end of the spectrum they fall, I'm sure that all moms are trying to give their children the best of themselves and everything that life has to offer.
To one little guy, I know the only title he'll know me by for the next few years is "mommy." It's amazing how much I instantly loved him. For any other person in life, it takes time to get to know them and rarely would a friendship reach the 'love' level. And rarely would that person be able to constantly wake me up in the middle of the night, spit-up on me, or punch me in the face and still have that same love. But I've loved Jackson from first sight and my love for him grows every day.
Happy Mother's Day to all of my friends with babies (young and old) here in England!
And I probably don't have the authority to do this, but here goes nothing: Happy Bonus Mother's Day to my mom and all of my mom-friends back in the States--you deserve it!
Having fun exercising in his jumperoo
Reaching for and tapping the parrot for the first time
Bundled and ready for the park
Jackson loved his first time on the swings
Sitting by himself on the exact day he turned five-months-old
Developmental updates: On Friday, Jackson turned five-months-old. After getting help sitting in an upright position, Jackson can stay sitting up without any help for a short period of time. He's talking more and more and Lee and I thought we heard him respond with "hi" a couple of times when we said "hello" or "hi" first. Jackson seems to enjoy making people smile and recognises that he has the power to make others smile if he shows his gummy grin. He went swinging in the park for the first time this week and got to spend time with his little friends Thomas, Ralph, and Penelope. Jackson's big toe found his mouth this week (or vice versa) and with his teething, it has become a chewing option. He is still on level two of his jumperoo, but this week he reached up to touch the dangling parrot above his head. It depends on the angle, but close-up, Jackson's eyes are still a blueish grey colour.
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
