Isaac Got His Birthday All To Himself

Two of my doctors told me that Lucy 's due date was October 21st. The second doctor was amused that he had gotten the exact same date as the first doctor and Doug and I were amused because the agreed-upon date was Isaac's birthday. Would we have two babies born on the same day? October 21st has come and gone, and Isaac has sole claim of October 21st as a birthday.

Yesterday, October 21st, we had an Isaac-centered day, complete with more blanket and paci time than usually permitted,

more time with Daddy than is usually possible on a weekday, balloons, a walk in the park to see the ducks, waiters serenading Isaac at Brick Oven, a good, effective nap (during which I baked Isaac's cake and wrapped his presents and Doug watched John Adams, decorated the cake, and blew up balloons), and a birthday party at my parents' house.

So many people called to sing to Isaac and Doug and I sang "Happy Birthday" to him at least a dozen times, but I still don't think it registered that he was turning two and that we were celebrating this accomplishment. This video shows a profound amount of tone-deafness on my part, but you can tell by my gusto that this doesn't faze me. Jeremy, Darcee, and Troy made it to the birthday party after the singing--I'm sure they could have made us sound better:).

Regardless of Isaac missing the point of our celebration, here I'll pontificate about motherhood for the past two years, and my theories on why Lucy hasn't vacated my burgeoning belly.

I have loved being Isaac's mommy. I love it when he says, "Hold you, Mommy" as he reaches for me and cuddles into me. I love talking with him and hanging out with him and his toy animals. I love how excited he is about almost everything. "Oh, look!" he'll exclaim and I'll turn to see something wonderful to him. Today, the seagulls in the Target parking lot were particularly exciting. I love Isaac and I love that I have him forever.

I just read the Relief Society message for this month, regarding gender, and a thought from Elder Ballard was interesting. He remarked that marriage and motherhood aren't the sole determining factors in womens' lives--every one of us has a place in building the kingdom and making our mark according to our agency. But gender is eternal, and I'll be a mother forever. Although I didn't salivate to be a mommy like some women do, I LOVE being a mother to my sweet son.

Now about this other kid who hasn't seen fit to join my family yet: I've got some theories regarding her tardiness. First of all, I've been able to do some important things while she's hung out en utero.

My mom and Dad decided to host two 13-year-old twin Ukrainian children in their home for the next 3 1/2 weeks and I felt strongly on Saturday that I needed to go over to my mom's house and help her get the house ready for the kids. As the day faded away, I finally asked Doug if his "kindness" for the week could be watching Isaac and putting him to bed while I went over to my mom's house to help out. Doug agreed and I know I was at the right place at the right time.

My mom got a phone call that the Ukrainian kids were an hour and a half earlier than expected and my mom had barely enough time to rush out the door with my dad and brother for the new expected arrival. That left me to take out the trash, do the dishes, clean the bathrooms, empty the halls of the miscellaneous items my mom didn't want cluttering the kids' rooms, unload groceries, lay out clothes for the kids to sleep in that night, make the girl's bed, change a light bulb, vacuum, and sweep.

My mom kept thanking me and deeming me translatable, but I just felt so GOOD because I knew I was acting on a prompting from the Holy Ghost and I was so happy to be able to help out. So that's one reason Lucy didn't come early.

Another was Isaac's birthday. My mom pointed out that it may have been annoying for me not to deliver by my due date, but for the rest of their lives, my kids will get to enjoy their birthdays on separate days, and that will be nice for them.

I am scheduled to be induced this Friday, and I haven't decided yet if I'll go through with it. I REALLY want labor to happen naturally, but I'm just not one of those people who thinks it's fine to carry my kid very long past a due date. Doug was 10 lbs, 10 oz, and I don't need that kind of bulk from my unborn child. Why wait for her to gain an extra pound when I know she's completely healthy and ready to make her appearance? The answer is, for now, that I'm not decided. But I LIKE that I can have this baby in a couple days. It makes me feel like I have some sort of control in a period of suspense.