Four, Cuatro, Arbah, Quatre, Vier, Quattro

Four years ago today on our living room floor, Laura pushed and heaved and worked and strained and BLAMMO, there was a baby in our house.  My first words upon seeing this baby's face were, "It's alive!" and Laura's first words were, "It's a baby!".  Our midwives looked at us kindly and said something like, "Um, yes, guys.  It's a live baby. That was kind of the the whole point of this endeavor".

It was just the beginning of the shock I sometimes feel as a parent.  Today Simon turns 4 years old.  I have no idea how we got here, especially when I consider what an incredible journey this has been.  Sometimes it has been what my friend Abby and I call "a puppet show" which is short for "awful puppetshow bullshit" (Simon went through a phase when those were his three favorite words it's now our shorthand for a total nightmare).  Sometimes I've felt more connected and loved and cared for than I could have imagined.  It's been one big crazy mix for *4* years. 

Despite feeling like we might crack up from lack of sleep due to Simon having back-to-back illnesses, Simon turning 4 feels pretty awesome. He is an incredible little person.   My Facebook page is peppered with his hilarious comments and actions.  My thoughts of him (99% of the time, anyway)  are filled with a sweetness and gentleness I never knew I was capable of. He is more verbal than ever and is excited about this birthday in a way he has never been. He has been saying "I'm almost 4" and "open some presents" for weeks now.  Makes me grin every time.

This year, Simon will receive a remarkable gift.  Tony Osso, a filmmaker from New York, did a short documentary film about our family as part of something he's doing called The Devotion Project.  He decided to release our story on Simon's 4th birthday, April 9, 2012.

Here it is :http://devotionproject.tumblr.com/page/2


Tony tells the story of how much our family loves each other in ways I could never truly convey to Simon myself.  I have all sorts of feelings about how we look and sound and are we so cheesy, but ultimately I am so grateful to see our story told with such honesty, care and thoughtfulness. It brings me incredible joy to know that Simon will get to have the love story of our family recorded in a way that he can access whenever he has doubts or fears or just needs to be reminded of where he comes from.

Thank you, Tony.  This is the best birthday present I could ever want for my son.

Then

And Now