They Grow Up So Fast...

Last month (nearly TWO) was Rhys' first birthday. EVER. It was awesome. He played with his toys, loved his cupcake and ice cream (but didn't get too messy), and even played with the balloons we had used to decorate. All in all he was easy placate. We also had the great privilege of having Candy come up to celebrate with us/see the concert that Abe was conducting. It was wonderful to have her there. She is such a super mom. This lady works full time, but still has time to celebrate the moments in our lives AND make sheets for Rhys' mattress. She also helped us get on the ball getting Rhys to eat more solids (the boy has eight teeth and won't chew). He is doing fabulously now and much more adventurous in terms of actually trying foods.  However, I still occasionally have to push food in his mouth for him to remember/realize that he actually likes it; then he asks for it! His favourite food right now has to be cheese strings. He is a champ when it comes to gobbling those down.

Helping Grandma make some sheets!

The same day was Abe's concert and it was awesome. Boy, let me tell you about my fantastic husband! Not only is devilishly handsome, not only does he make me swoon, not only does he know just how to make me laugh, but he is a go-getter-provider. I am daily inspired by his work ethic. It doesn't mean that he's a workaholic, that's part of what is amazing; he knows exactly what's important and what's not. The things that aren't important he feels no qualms about when he leaves them in his highly efficient dust. I'm so proud of him. He is currently conducting The Elixir of Love and singing it all over the apartment. You should come see it if you're in town! 

Life is definitely getting easier as a working mom with our outrageous little boy. Not only is eating better, but he's sleeping through the night and it no longer takes 45 minutes to get him to sleep in the first place! That last one was always a bit of a worry, since I was always so anxious to get back to work. Maybe it's because I've changed my perspective, or maybe it's because Spring Term isn't as busy as Winter Semester, but it's gotten easier to realize that, despite enjoying my job, I will have my family forever. During General Conference this past April I kept realizing that the main way I could improve my life was by really being with my family. It has helped enormously. I'm finally noticing and loving the little things. Like Rhys whipping around a piece of string cheese, his head isolations when he dances, his huge grins and bouncing when I practice an Italian song, and a million other things. 

This brings me to a point that's bothered me lately. I keep seeing the message that women can't do anything influential if they have children. One TV show I was watching had a character who said that she wanted to make a difference, but that she couldn't do that if she was "settled down". I used to feel that way. I used to be terrified that once I became a wife and mother I would lose who I was and just fade away into a high demand object. Now that I'm on this side of things I realize that that thinking is just crazy. Being in the business of making a difference in the lives of many, I can see now that any influence I may have over residents doesn't even come close to the way I influence Rhys' life. If I don't try to help him as much as I can, who will? If I don't teach him and help him to see his eternal potential, can I really trust that he'll grow into the man he can be? I've seen too many examples of kids whose parents thought something else was more important than rearing children and the result can be disastrous. It can be fixed, but it takes more work than most of us can give. No, the people who make a difference in the world are the ones who already know who they are and have security in their lives. That's what I want to do. 

I was also making a photobook the other day and realized just how much Rhys has grown! Check it out. From this:

 To this!