Then and Now {and a Giveaway!}

Dear Eddie,
Then, you were so very small.  Daddy and I tried to prepare for you as best as we could, but we had no idea what it would be like to have such a tiny little person in our house with us.  You were just so small (even if EVERYONE kept calling you huge, you were tiny to us).

You stayed bundled up like a little burrito in your receiving blankets in your swing.  Your hair was so brown.

Your pipey was almost as big as your face. Your hands and feet had all that new baby dry skin.  I couldn't stop holding your little fingers.

Your eyes were so dark and beautiful.  You seemed to know something.  You seemed wise.  But at the same time...

...you were so little.  Your bib was as big as the rest of you!  The car seat seemed to eat you alive.  Hats swallowed your little face.

You needed LOTS of cuddling because your tummy was not happy.  The formula we had just didn't agree with you and you had so many bubbles in your little tummy.

you were so relaxed at bath time, though, that you would pee and then fall asleep.  With your chubby little tummy sticking out of the tub.

You seemed to weigh nothing.  I loved to show you off and dress you in cute outfits.  I mean, those shoes?  Awesome.

Every morning for the first two weeks at home this is what we did.  I got up with you around 4:00 or 5:00 and gave you your bottle and we would snuggle together until daddy woke us up just after 9:00 with Starbucks for me, and another bottle for you.  Every. Morning.

Back then we could lay you down and you didn't move.  You did cry though.  a LOT.  even after we switched you to soy, you were a mad little man.  An angerball.  But what a cute little angerball.

And your pooping was about once or twice a week.  And humorous because your whole face head turned red and you got a dimple when you grunted.

Did I mention that you were squishy and wonderful?  Our lives had changed.  The kitchen counter was now set up as a feeding station. There was a little blue tub IN our regular tub.  Swings and bouncey seats and boppys and bumbos and receiving blankets and burp clothes took over our whole house.  We had a baby.

And then...just like that, I blinked.  Eddie, I blinked and you were one year old.  You were not a baby anymore.  You are now a toddler with QUITE a personality.

Every morning daddy helps you brush your eight teeth.  EIGHT!  And you are so good at it!  You can even hold the toothbrush--although you tend to suck on it more than brush.

You can open your own gifts.  A year ago you laid in a little baby cart in the hospital and I opened all your gifts.  Now you are a big boy and can do it yourself.  You tear the paper and play with the bow!  It's all so exciting!

and you can even eat cake!  You are messy when you do it, but you can feed yourself AND digest the sweets!  and have FUN doing it!

You can sit up in your booster and eat a birthday dinner of fruit and chicken fingers in a restaurant with water in your sippy.  No more bottles for you, big guy!

You even charm all the waitresses into singing for you!  That is right, our waitress thought you were the cutest thing and you were most definitely flirting with her.  Flirting your way into another piece of chocolate cake for the day!

Our house is rarely picked up anymore.  Then we could set you in your bouncy and you didn't do much.  Now we set you down and off you go to explore!

There are so many things you can do NOW.  You can walk.  You can squat and pick up toys (like your new John Deere radio from the Eiks in Montana!).  You can bring it over to us.  And you LOVE to point everything out to us.

And now you are so mobile that I can't even get a good picture of you!  They are all blurry because, big boy, you've got places to GO!

And you want the world to know you are ON YOUR WAY!  Eddie, I am pretty sure you will go far with your powerful voice, your command of attention, your amazing blue eyes, and your devilishly handsome smile.

You've already got your momma wrapped around your finger with all those qualities and more. I love to listen to the stories you tell me, and spend our special momma/Eddie time together at night when I read you a book, sing you a song, and rock you to sleep.  I am trying so hard to be a good momma to you.  There are lots of battles I have had to fight for myself and for you and for our momma/son bond, but I know it will all be worth it.  You are worth it.  And I won't stop fighting for you EVER.  Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My baby YOU'LL be,

Love,

Your momma

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And now, because he is officially a big boy, Eddie would LOVE to give YOU something in honor of his birthday!

Eddie loves to read.  I think he got that quality from his momma who ALSO loves to read.  

SIDE NOTE: In fact, I have a book blog over here that is going to have a mad awesome series called "July is SUMMER Reading Month" that will feature lots of great guest bloggers and some fun giveaways!  So stay tuned.

Ahem...the giveaway...right.

As I was saying, Eddie and I love to read.  We hope you do too.  Because of our love, we are giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to Barnes and Noble!

Anyone can win this!  All you have to do to enter is the following:

Mandatory to enter:  Leave me a comment here.  Any old comment will do.

Extra entries (please leave extra entries in their own comment space. That means use a SEPARATE comment for each entry.  If you don't, your extra entries WON'T be counted):

1. "like" Sluiter Nation on facebook and come back and tell me you did (or if you do already, tell me that)

2. become a follower using the Google Friend Connect on the side of my blog and comment that you did (or tell me if you already are a follower...and thank you, by the way)

3. Tweet the following:  "Giveaway!!@ksluiter is giving away the gift of reading at http://bit.ly/ctS3lp!  Enter now!" Make sure to come back and tell me that you did! (one tweet per day)

That is it!  This giveaway will end Sunday, June 27 at 6:00 pm.  A winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced Monday morning.

The disclaimer stuff:  You must have a valid email address to win.  You don't need to be a blogger, but you need to leave some sort of way for me to get a hold of you if you win.  Also, Barnes and Nobles did not give me a darn thing to do this.  How lovely it would be to have them as a sponsor, but alas, this one is from my own pocket because Sluiter Nation appreciates it's readers that much.