Growing Like A Weed

Wow. It's been a really, really long time since I've posted anything. A lot has happened since our garden of two years ago. In July of 2009 I became pregnant with our third baby and on March 2, 2010 we welcomed our newest son, Desmond Mark to the world. He is amazing. He is calm and patient, he coos and smiles. He cuddles into me like a little frog on a tree. I am admittedly in love again. Our boys are so wonderful. And I don't exaggerate at all when I say how much the older brothers love their baby!

I love having a Spring baby. The warm days are here (mostly) and I find myself optimistic and cheerful most days. The boys can actually play outside while I nurse Des and they keep very busy with the bugs and weeds. I've done a lot of daydreaming of gardening. Our plan for gardening this year is to create a square foot garden. Though I love to make a huge garden, it tends to get away from me in the summer and becomes covered with weeds. Everything needs to be harvested at the same time (how many zucchinis can one eat?) and frankly, I just don't have the time to harvest, can, or freeze. So I looked into Mel Bartholomew's method of Square Foot Gardening and I think this will work out wonderfully. I have purchased a few new herbs: stevia sugar bush, chocolate mint, lavender, and rosemary. I also bought a beautiful Russian sage perennial. We also purchased about 36 strawberry plants and rebuilt our strawberry bed. I know I tend to get a little carried away!

I was sharing with a dear friend Desmond's 2 month old stats. He's a big guy! I wanted my last baby to be little for longer but alas he just got so big so fast! (Truthfully he started out big at 8 pounds 15 ounces birth weight!) So for his two month visit he weighed 14 pounds, 7 ounces and is 24.61 inches long! My friend replied with "He's growing like a weed!" I understand this expression and it makes sense in a way. But on the other hand...a weed doesn't need much to grow. It doesn't need to be cared for, fed or nurtured. Most weeds can grow under rocks, between sidewalks, and can survive on very little water. Des on the other hand, is totally dependent on me. I nurse him, I cuddle, we coo, I change his diapers, I hold him, I rock him and massage his perfectly soft skin. I curse at how quickly time is going by for me and my last little baby. I marvel at how long and thin my Manny has become and how studious he is. He's always reading, drawing, or teaching from his books to his baby brothers. I am floored at how tall Adrian is and how much he's talking, how he can put together puzzles and fit a very thin stick into a tiny hole to put up a toy flag. I love how empathetic both boys are towards me when I'm having a tough day. I love how the smile on my baby's face can make my heart full with affection and love and peace. So even though they "grow like weeds", there's more to it than that. Mama and Daddy put a lot of effort into their care...and proudly...it shows.