katusha animal: Leaving Our Toddler's First Home

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Leaving Our Toddler's First Home | Toddler Times

milestones 199x300 Leaving Our Toddlers First Home I remember the day we brought Harrison home to our little grey house with the black shutters.

It was cold, even for middle October in North Carolina. ?We had entered the hospital with eighty-degree weather and left three days later to the mid-fifties. ?He was bundled up in a white sleeper that my friend Emilee gifted us many months ago, and a ?Sweet Pea? Gymboree blanket that he still sleeps with to this day. ?I was tired and sore but happy as we pulled into our driveway. ?Doug parked and we lifted our sleeping baby out of the backseat and walked him into our home with little fanfare?? it was just the three of us, so no cameras or balloons or relatives. ?That would all come later.

We settled in and made a snack and took a snooze and started a load of laundry. ?Harrison stayed swaddled in blankets and love and I never knew more peace than that day in our little house.

Now we are boxed up and ready to hand over the keys to that house and my heart feels a certain heaviness that betrays my excitement for this new chapter in our life. ?I think of all the first moments we had in that house and I wonder ? what will Harrison remember, if anything?

Halloween

I doubt he'll remember these, mostly because of his age but also because we've never taken him trick-or-treating. But I remember all the poses on the front porch.

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My maternity leave

Another one that he won't remember that is tattooed on my heart. The months spent home with him, the laundry rolling and bottle-washing and exhaustion.

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The spring I spent at home with him

There's a chance he'll remember this past spring when I was home with him. One of the best seasons of my life.

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Milestones

He learned to sit up, walk, eat, run, talk, and pray in this house. Those memories feel so attached to our home.

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His room

Lovingly decorated by me and later as it took more his personality with colors and cars and monkeys rather than boats.

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Birthdays

We celebrated two birthdays in our backyard, with friends and homemade cupcakes.

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His first snow

He was not a fan but we've had three dustings since and he's become far more fond.

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The park that's just a mile away

Will he remember all the hours we spent there in the past three years? The walks and pictures and tree-climbing?

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His backyard chalkboard

Will he remember the hours we spent decorating this and drawing on our driveway and the evenings I pushed him in the little swing in the backyard?

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A baby dedication

My first Mother's Day, we dedicated our baby to Jesus. Family and friends came to celebrate Harrison and our role as his parents. I took an hour with him in our yard with our camera, just soaking in time with my baby away from the hustle.

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His first Christmas

I know he won't remember this, but I remember that first Christmas morning as a family with hot coffee and a swaddled baby. May he will remember last Christmas, when he got his play kitchen?

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His playroom

We spent almost every moment in the house in this room, covered with his toys.

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The walks in the neighborhood

Our neighborhood was perfect for morning and evening walks.

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