18 Months and 6 Days

When Evan was born, Liam was exactly 18 months and 6 days old. He was walking and (barely) talking, but he was still just a baby. And then we turned his life upside down by adding a newborn to the mix.

Well, today Evan is exactly 18 months and 6 days old. Like Liam was at that age, he's walking and talking, but again, he's still just a baby. And I when I look at him, I cannot imagine having another baby at this point.

I have no idea how we survived those first few months of Evan's life. We had a five year old, a toddler and a newborn. And, we packed up our house and moved when he was six weeks old. Seriously? How did we not drop from sheer exhaustion?

The tired cliche of "God doesn't give you anymore than you can handle" was my mantra back then and when I have tough days, I often think back to that time. It was a time of sleeplessness, general fatigue and post-partum weepiness. It was rough.

And now when both boys are yelling and Sydney is crying and I think I'm going to lose my mind, I am thankful that no matter how rough it gets, at least we're all sleeping through the night. And no matter how sad I get when I think about not having another wee little babe in the house, I am thankful that we decided to stop adding to our family and enjoy the three blessings we've been given.

They truly are blessings, my Sydney, Liam and Evan. Sydney with her curious mind, Liam with his mischievous grin and Evan with his sweet kisses.

On those rough days when I lose my temper once too often or raise my voice a little too loudly, I wonder why I deserve such blessings and I pray that I never take them for granted. Before I know it, they'll be off to college, married and having children of their own. (But then I'll have grandkids that I can spoil and then send home!)

So for now, I'll try remember every little moment: every time Liam and Evan get the giggles at the dinner table, every time the boys sit and listen when Sydney reads a book to them, every tickle fight, every hug.

I just hope they'll remember those fun moments, too.