On Kids, Part II

So again i love my babies :). And for Mothers Day, my husband did a ridiculous thing for me. He, completely on his own, bought the kids clothing, took them to a photo shoot and put together a stunning collage for me. Completely awesome and shocking and i dont know what i'm going to do for fathers day!

I don't yet know if my kids have CMT. I'm going to assume they have and if I find out differently be pleasantly surprised. Neither is very graceful and both are prone to falling (sound familiar) but neither is terribly awkward or very late walker. S is getting PT and I'm getting Y evaluated too....he started everythnig on time but S's PT feels he could use it as he does fall and is somewhat clumsy. I'm hoping for the best but know i can give them an awesome life either way.

So thinking more about kids.....i came from a family of 4 and so did DH. I am very close to my sibs and actually always wish i had more siblings. Most people in our community have 4 or more kids, some have 6, 7 or even more. Not everyone is very big on birth control and many feel havinga large family is important. I always thoughts I'd have 5 kids. TO me thats a nice number; you have at least one of each (in my perfect world) and everyone fits in a regular minivan :). My sister has 3 girls and 2 boys and its lovely.

Anyway as I mentioned last time I was thrilled with my girl and my boy being born. and honestly, life is really good right now. i dont feel the need to make my family bigger at this point and wonder if i ever will. i mean granted, my kids are still really young, but most people in my community who have had kids Y's age are already on to the next one. 2-3 years was the perfect age gap in my book -- before my kids are born. Now, i'm thinking maybe maybe when Y is 4, s will be 5 and MAYBE i'll be ready. And my kids will be old enough to help me :). but it all remains to be seen. as i said, life is very good right now. i feel like my family is somewhat complete. Money is somewhat tight. And life is so exhasuting I cant imagine taking care of a newborn on top of e/t else.

Little things about CMT that makes mommying little ones that much more challenging:

• Running after them is hard! Especially up and down stairs, carrying, in and out of car seats, how about CARRYING up teh stairs!! S knows to ask me if 'you are very strong or only a little strong' because i usually can't carry her too far but her daddy can (and carry Y at the same time)
• energy level. i think this is one of the hardest parts of CMT. I get drained easily. which means i dont always have energy for the kids. especially after a full day of work. i relax on the couch a lot. but i also think i give them my all often and manage to get out with them and push myself as much as possible.
• getting them dressed. tough! Espeically snaps and buttons - help! and with little guys wriggling away! i try to get things sans buttons when possible or just pin them down, focus and hope for the best.
• dumb things like child safety locks and opening things are hard for me too :).

i didnt even realize how hard parenting would be before i jumped into it. i'm kinda glad i didnt think about it and just did it. i have never been so happy and felt so fulfilled in my life, exhuaxted as i may be.

so who knows what the future will hold. for now, life is great. i have to stop compraing myself to everyone else and do what works for us as individuals and a family.

oh and here's the collage DH made: