snips and snails

**Author's note: This post was written way back in May 2012, just weeks after our precious boy entered the world. Apparently I was waiting on something else to "hit" me about this topic before posting as I find it here in draft form. Let's just go with the draft, shall we?  Please note, our rumbly, tumbly little boy is a whopping 8.5 months old now!


I have no idea what a snip is. I am not sure that is crucial when raising a boy, but it seems to be what they are made of.  This is one of many things about boys I do not know but will soon be learning as I continue on the adventure of raising our own Mr. C.

I feel so blessed to be the momma of a snuggly, rolly polly, smelly, wiggly little boy.  We had no idea if C was a boy or girl before he arrived the morning of April 4th. Our entire pregnancy I imagined he was a boy. I just "knew" somehow in my inmost being that my doctor would proudly say "it's a boy!" when our baby entered this world.  I was not surprised one bit.

Surprised? No.

Nervous? Yes.

I was happy and elated that our sweet baby was here with a healthy cry and an even healthier head of hair! But I was nervous. Nervous about having a baby boy. Nervous about raising a baby boy. Nervous because I feel I know n-o-t-h-i-n-g about raising little boys! (And then I realized I know nothing about raising girls, either, and I felt some relief :)).

As we brought C home from the hospital and began our lives as a 3 person family, my mind kept moving to the future. Sure, I can do this baby stuff. But what about later? What about the toddler years when he is a rambunctious little tumbleweed of a boy and I am exhausted just trying to keep up with him? What about those teenage years when he has to deal with boy teenage things and I have no idea how to help him with those boy teenage things? (And then I realized that C has a wonderful father who can help him..and even shed some light for me on these things).

As I was on a walk with our little "buddy" as we so often call him, his plush soccer ball, attached to his stroller, caught my eye. Suddenly my heart and my mind were flooded with warm thoughts of this little dark haired boy with dirty little knees chasing after an actual soccer ball amidst a herd of his own kind, smiling and giggling as his feet make contact, beaming at us with pride when he scores his first goal.

And not long after that walk I was digging in our garden planting our vegetables for the year and my heart leapt at the sight of the wriggly worms crawling in and out of the dirt. I imagined C digging in that same dirt in summers to come, delighting in those wiggly little creatures, grabbing fistfuls of dirt and squealing as his little hands get dirtier and dirtier.

As I reflect on the life that is to come with our amazing, sweet, crazy haired little boy (seriously, his hair is worth mentioning again--it's awesome!), I get so excited. So excited to raise this little boy to be a kind, gentle man; to enjoy the world around him; to discover his passions and never fear pursuing them; to have a deep faith; to know that no matter what he is always loved.