• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Dear Sabrina

  • Family
  • Happiness
  • Life in Sweden
  • Beauty
  • Thinking
  • Miscellany
  • About
    • Now
You are here: Home / Family / Happy Second Birthday, Leif!

Happy Second Birthday, Leif!

September 29, 2016 By Jodi

leif-eating-blueberries

Today is Leif's second birthday. Tonight we are having a small gathering with neighbors and a couple friends, and this weekend we will spend a fun day doing things that Leif loves. He's still young enough that he doesn't seem to understand that it's his birthday, or what that means--but I'm sure he'll enjoy his ice-cream cake and presents anyway. =)

leif-as-newborn

leif-perpetual-concern

In the months after Leif was born, we'd pegged him for our calm, sweet baby. He had a look of perpetual concern about him, with raised eyebrows that made him look as if he were always wondering what the heck is going on around here? Within a month of him learning to walk, however, his personality changed almost entirely; with mobility came a new sense of mischief that he carries with him today. He loves trouble, getting a twinkle in his eye before he takes a toy from August or pulls up a stool to dig through the cupboard where we hide the chocolate.

first-birthday-cake brothers-reading

leif-cheeky-smile blondie-from-above chair-dancing that-little-smile

As I think about this little dumpling and the two years we've shared together, all the cliches come to mind: I can't imagine my life without him; I love him more than I ever thought possible, and I love him more every day; he's just the most wonderful little creature. It's hard to find something to say about one's child that hasn't been said a billion times before (and doesn't sound like utter tripe to everyone else!). But parenting isn't about having the most superlative child or saying the most superlative things, about loving them more than every other mother has ever loved their baby.

Mothering has, in fact, been almost the opposite for me: it has been incredibly humbling. Being a mother is realizing that your child really is the most wonderful being in the world--and so is everyone else's child. It's about loving them like no one has loved a child before--except the few billion children who came before and will come after yours. It's about swinging between fury and compassion in an instant, feeling as exasperated as you ever will and as bowed by love as you ever will.

To my little Leif on his birthday--to all of the fury and love of the previous year, to all of the fury and love of the year to come. I love you.

Filed Under: Family, Motherhood Tagged With: birthday, compassion, fury, Leif, love, mothering

Previous Post: « Rainy Day Reads
Next Post: Happiness Project: Month 1 Wrap-Up »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

About Jodi

I just repatriated from Sweden to the US with my British husband and three young kids. I started this site while living in Sweden to build the conversations and community we've had with loved ones around the world, and to create a space to share thoughts about life, beauty, motherhood, and everything else. read more →

Connect & Follow

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Receive the weekly newsletter

* indicates required
/ ( mm / dd )

Categories

  • Beauty
  • Family
  • Happiness
  • Life in Sweden
  • Miscellany
  • Thinking

Follow me on Bloglovin'

Follow

Instagram

Someone turned 4 this week. We gave her a super fu Someone turned 4 this week. We gave her a super fun Fuji Instax camera and I’m loving the mementos lying around the house. And did I mention that my *baby* is 4?! Life, man. Just keeps happening.
Weekend escape to the coast. South of Yachats. Weekend escape to the coast. South of Yachats.
Morning couch snuggles with our newest housemates. Morning couch snuggles with our newest housemates.
My wine did this yesterday. Is this a bad sign? My wine did this yesterday. Is this a bad sign?
How an evening should be. How an evening should be.
So the other night I was drinking a margarita by t So the other night I was drinking a margarita by the fireside and reading the Girls Night In newsletter. At the end they asked readers to respond it a question, so I did. (A bit tipsy, mind you). Apparently they liked my response, and they shared it with their IG community (just a cool 134k followers), and I have been over the moon with the response. The comments have been a treasure to read. Thanks, @girlsnightinclub, for what you do and the community you’ve created.
Glorious time at the coast today. Our first trip t Glorious time at the coast today. Our first trip to Seal Beach. Somehow everything was perfect about it and we ran around and tidepooled and flew kites and rearranged driftwood and rocks and ran in and out of the waves for hours.
We did the thing where you go to a place and there We did the thing where you go to a place and there’s stuff on the ground. 3 out of 5 had fun. 1 out of 5 denies having had fun, despite having had fun. 1 out of 5 wore THIN COTTON PANTS despite many better options and much advice to the contrary and was miserable the whole time and thus did not have fun.
Follow on Instagram

Footer

About Dear Sabrina

Welcome! Dear Sabrina is a lifestyle blog for the thinking woman (and man, if men read lifestyle blogs). I hope that visiting this site gives you something to think about, makes you laugh, or shows you something new. If you want to further connect, find me on one of networks below or send an email.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think. More about me…

  • Bloglovin
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2021 · Jodi Elliott