The Lullaby Life

Tonight as we were getting Nixon ready for bed he was sad. He breaks down when he realized bath time is over and pajamas are on their way. It’s a ritual we sing through every night. But tonight, tonight was different. Tonight amidst the tears he repeated over and over, “Mama, mama, mama” for the first time. I can’t begin to describe how much I love that little boy.

Our child hit eight months old and became the coolest baby in all the land. My favorite part about him is how he smiles his giant, toothless smile for everyone he sees. He is so happy! Let’s be honest, babies aren’t fairytales and our baby can scream with the best of them. But most of the time he loves to sing and smile and play.

Mama is the newest word, but before that came “Da dad da dad da.” I was walking Nixon around the house to see pictures of the people we know, and every time he saw one of Tyler he’d say “da dad da dad da.” Tyler was beyond skeptical when I told him this, but I was convinced he knew what he was saying. Later that day we walked out to meet Tyler as he was coming home from work. We stopped to talk to our friends. I said, “Nixon, what’s your new word?” Without skipping a beat he looked at Tyler, smiled big and said, “da dad da dad da!”

Yesterday Nixon and I were out on the grass blowing bubbles and eating dirt (wait, that was just Nixon), and our neighbor walked by and said, “wow, that’s the life.” I thought about how right he is. I am right where I need to be, living a life that’s overflowing with lullabies and big huge smiles. 

I have a close friend who told me as soon as I saw my little boy I wouldn't want to return to work. She was wrong. I probably could have managed to leave him them. But now, now that we've officially grown attached, leaving is the last thing on my mind. I feel overwhelmingly grateful for every day I can just be Nixon's mom.