16 Years ago today, our firstborn came into this world screaming mad, wondering why in the world someone would take him from the warmth and comfort of his mother’s womb. He continued to be screaming mad for the next 6 months…first it was colic and we finally realized that he was not satisfied with mom’s meager offering of breast milk. Then it was teething time but Grandma & Grandpa Vandiford fixed that with a nice, icy cold diet coke (to my chagrin). Then he contracted a nasty rotavirus that felt like it lasted for months. This was all during my final year of college.
But I digress.
I truly believe when we become mothers, especially first-time mothers, we unconsciously join a secret society (o.k. maybe not so secret) of motherhood pride. Come on and admit it…we all believe our babies are the most beautiful, most intelligent, most advanced. I certainly thought so when Christopher started crawling at 4 months of age. Little did I realize that it was only because an older baby had stolen his precious pacifier and he was so ticked off about it, he had to learn to crawl so he could steal his pacifier back! Genius!
Right before Christopher turned one, he just seemed to mellow out…maybe it was all the Benedryl we gave him as we traveled cross-country, moving from Atlanta to Salt Lake City. Ever since then, he has exuded an old spirit. Maybe it was because he was an only child for 5 years and was only around adults.
My mom told me once that she felt like his spirit was way beyond his years and comprehension. Again, back to that, don’t we all feel there is something special about each of our children?
As he gets older and especially now that he has hit his teen years, we see even more what we have thought all along. He is very special.
There is not a day that goes by that someone does not tell me what a kind young man he is. His teachers have told us that he is the leader of the class. I could go on and on about all the things he has accomplished in his life but I would rather tell you of the man he is becoming.
He gets up every morning at 5:20 a.m. to attend a religious class at our church, known as Seminary. If he notices a particular kid has not been attending, he lets them know they are missed and encourages them to attend.
He loves to read his scriptures and gets excited when he learns something new.
The kids on his swim team and at school know not to use offensive language around him because he does not stand for it.
But I digress.
I truly believe when we become mothers, especially first-time mothers, we unconsciously join a secret society (o.k. maybe not so secret) of motherhood pride. Come on and admit it…we all believe our babies are the most beautiful, most intelligent, most advanced. I certainly thought so when Christopher started crawling at 4 months of age. Little did I realize that it was only because an older baby had stolen his precious pacifier and he was so ticked off about it, he had to learn to crawl so he could steal his pacifier back! Genius!
Right before Christopher turned one, he just seemed to mellow out…maybe it was all the Benedryl we gave him as we traveled cross-country, moving from Atlanta to Salt Lake City. Ever since then, he has exuded an old spirit. Maybe it was because he was an only child for 5 years and was only around adults.
My mom told me once that she felt like his spirit was way beyond his years and comprehension. Again, back to that, don’t we all feel there is something special about each of our children?
As he gets older and especially now that he has hit his teen years, we see even more what we have thought all along. He is very special.
There is not a day that goes by that someone does not tell me what a kind young man he is. His teachers have told us that he is the leader of the class. I could go on and on about all the things he has accomplished in his life but I would rather tell you of the man he is becoming.
He gets up every morning at 5:20 a.m. to attend a religious class at our church, known as Seminary. If he notices a particular kid has not been attending, he lets them know they are missed and encourages them to attend.
He loves to read his scriptures and gets excited when he learns something new.
The kids on his swim team and at school know not to use offensive language around him because he does not stand for it.
He is already looking forward to the day when he can serve a mission for the Lord.
I know I am boasting…but that’s what mothers do and I am so proud of him.
Although we gave birth to him when Chris and I were still very young, we have never regretted him coming into our lives. I never knew I could love so much.
Today we celebrate Christopher’s birth and the unimaginable joy he has brought into our lives since that day.
Happy Birthday Christopher!
I know I am boasting…but that’s what mothers do and I am so proud of him.
Although we gave birth to him when Chris and I were still very young, we have never regretted him coming into our lives. I never knew I could love so much.
Today we celebrate Christopher’s birth and the unimaginable joy he has brought into our lives since that day.
Happy Birthday Christopher!
4 comments:
I hope you had a very happy birthday Christopher!
With lots of chocolate carmel cake, it was a very happy birthday. Thank you!
I would be proud too Soph. He sounds like an amazing boy. I hope I can meet him someday!
Happy Birthday Christopher! I won't go into an embarrassing tirade of how cute you were as a teeny baby, how we used to change your diapers, how you loved being surrounding by girls (wait...that still applies), how you loved being one of the college gang...I could go on and on. What I really want to say is you are indeed one special guy. We love you and we are so proud of you.
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