my baby turns 1

A year ago today, at 9:54 AM – Travis Lawrence Huapala came into our lives and joined our little family.

He has been a blessing, a good laugh and a very sweet spirit.

Happy Birthday Travis!

We Love You!

The Week Before - 36 Weeks

The Birth Story

The Birth Photos

A Few Things About Trav

Food - He LOVES food. He will eat anything that is edible and he will try to eat anything that is not. He's not afraid to try new foods at all and most of the time, loves whatever it is. His favorite is avocado. He just eats them up. He lets you know that he wants to eat by pointing to the food and saying, "Uh uh, hmmm.".

Favorites - Travis loves time with his Dad. He gets so excited when Joe comes home from work. He wiggles, giggles and crawls as quickly as he can and yells, "Da!" and points his little finger at Joe. Its the cutest thing ever. He loves to wrestle with Joe and Enoch. Joe does take it a little easier on Travis but he loves it when it gets rough. He feels like a big boy.

Sports - He loves basketball. Whenever its on tv, even if we're channel surfing, he starts screaming, "Ba! Hmm!", then bounces up and down to make Joe stop surfing. Now, this is not a bad thing for Joe, he needed someone else to watch basketball with because Enoch and I just don't care for it. Trav will clap when they score, its really cute. His favorite toy is a ball of course. He will toss that thing around the house and chase after it all day.

Big Brother - He loves his big brother. He wants to do anything that Enoch is doing and play with whatever Enoch thinks is cool. This goes over well most of the time - unless Enoch is tired of course and just isn't in a sharing mood. For the most part, they enjoy play time with each other.

Sweet Loves - Travis is a lover. Whenever you pick him up, he will squeeze and hug you, then pat you on the back. He adores giving kisses; he leans in and pushes his little mouth out to get you. So cute. He is also very kind and caring. If he's eating something and you're near him, he will almost always share it with you.

He is our Trav and we adore him.

i gotta feelin'...

Most of the time when you a hear a story from a Mom about a grocery store trip, its pretty traumatizing. Your kids are driving you crazy as they drive each other nuts; other people in the store find that its their right to tell you you're a crappy mother because you're children are having a bad day.Well, I have had those days and they are not fun. I mostly just want to punch whomever it is that sticks their nose into my business and then excuse myself from their "perfect" existence.

Well, today didn't go like that at all. Actually, it was pretty positive and uplifting.
I went to Sprouts to check the prices on some meat and then on the way out, decided to get the kids their own bag of candy. If you've been to Sprouts, you'd know that they have a bulk section so you can buy as much or as little as you want. Enoch got gummy worms and bears, Travis got a very small bag of mini peanut butter cups.

Well, there is ALWAYS a line at Sprouts check out, ALWAYS. So I quickly hopped into the first line in front of me and realized, after I got in line, that I might have cut this older gentleman off to get into that line. I thought about it for a minute and then tried to brush it off. I did, however, feel his eyes on me and sometimes the boys and I just thought to myself, "Oh please, don't say anything. I'm tired and I don't want to deal with an emotional upset today. Please." Well, the line was still pretty long and he was watching Enoch & Travis, he finally asked,
"Do your boys fight very much?"
Me: Well, not as often as you'd think. I think its the age gap. 3 years is a good gap.

Gentleman: That's great. My grandsons are two years apart and fight constantly.

Me: Its still considered love though. Just a little rough around the edges.

GM: I had an older brother with a very short temper but it would end quickly. Once he was over it, he would give me a hug and that always surprised me. Never got used to it.

Me: At least he felt bad. My boys are huggers and kissers, when they do fight, it is brief and they end on a hug.

GM: That is wonderful. Are they both healthy?

Me: We had a rough patch with the oldest but he is healthy now. The younger is healthy as a horse. We've definitely been blessed.

GM: Fantastic, my daughter was born with asthma so we were always told that she wouldn't do much in life. She turned out to be a fantastic athlete and brilliant. She has done wonderfully in school.

Me: Oh thats great. You're always told that if they have a condition, you should keep them from doing certain things but that will only hinder their strength and development.

GM: So true. Are you a church going lady?

Me: Why yes I am.

GM: Ah, thats wonderful. It shows. How wonderful it is to be able to tell a fellow Christian.

Later on in the conversation, yes the line was THAT long, I found out he was a pastor for a Christian church. He told me my boys were beautiful and very well behaved. He was a very nice gentleman and seems to have a great little family. They were blessed with just one child, a daughter. She had a rough start, she was born only 3 lbs and was said to have suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen and they were told that she would not be able to do a lot of the things that most people grow up to do. Now she's married, has two children, has graduated college with a bachelor's. Life truly is amazing and the Lord blesses us everyday.
What a great afternoon at the store. It just left me with a good feeling.

=D

On a funnier note, Enoch and I were watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs this afternoon. When Sid brought the eggs out of the ground, Enoch turned to me and said,

"Mom, do those edds *eggs* have NUSSTACHES?"

When he says it, it sounds like "Nut Sash". I'm sorry, that's funny. HAHA!

sick, sick, sick

So Travis has been sick lately. It started a few months ago with a cold. That cold went away. Then he had another cold. That cold went away. And now, he's got, yes, you guessed it, ANOTHER cold. I feel so bad for this guy. I've heard that the second child gets more ickiness and sickiness than the first but, I thought it was only a rumor. Well, it is now fact for me. The odd thing is, I go out SO much less now that I have two than I did with one. I guess that is the problem, not enough exposure.
I did read an article in the Parent magazine stating that you can be TOO clean. Kids NEED germs to build stronger immune systems. (did you know that the average 1 -2 year old puts their hands to their mouths 80 times in ONE hour?) This makes sense to me. I will now promise to make every effort to get out more so my child is exposed to more GERMS. I'm an AWESOME Mom. :D

I did however discover that a Mother's love really is true love last night. When you are more than willing to stay up with your whaling, screaming, inconsolable child ALL. NIGHT. LONG. Just so he can feel better in the morning, that is true love.
So, to anyone out there who thinks that Motherhood is the easiest job ever and anyone who chooses being a full time Mom over a full time job has the easy road, think again. I challenge you to spend one night with a sick child and come out on the other side smiling and only loving that child more. Be my guest.
Motherhood is hard work my friends and I cherish it. I would choose my children, sickness & health, over the stress of a paying job anyday. My life as a Mother is 110% more rewarding than any job could ever be.

I Love Being a Mom. :D