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When Love Came to Town

June 20, 2016 By Marta Darby 12 Comments

I have fallen in love many times before. The most obvious, of course, is with the man who shares my life and keeps my Cuban crazy in check. I appreciate my husband, Eric so much for that. 

And then there’s always the day each of my four kids was born. Easy-peasy. There was no doubt that those love affairs would continue forever. (Except for the times when they make me crazy and I want to rip off their arms and beat them on the head, but that’s sooo not important right now.)

But I wasn’t ready for what happened to my heart when my grandsons were born. If you follow me on Instagram (martadarby), you will have undoubtedly witnessed the long distance love affair we have been enjoying with our grandson, Asher in Virginia (son of Adam & Alysha) who is almost 2. I am so grateful for the magic of Skype which keeps us connected. 

Here's Asher. Please ignore the crazy grandparents in the corner...

Here’s Asher. Please ignore the crazy grandparents in the corner…

3 weeks ago, my daughter, Amy gave birth to Sebastian Alexander Darby. (I like saying his full name. It feels very regal to me.)

Weighing in at 7 lbs. and 14 oz. he came crashing into the world and into our lives and we are completely smitten and beside ourselves with love for this incredible little creature.

Sebastian and Amy have been staying with us since his birth and our entire household has been turned upside down in the best and worst way possible. 

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

Who knew that holding and staring would become our favorite thing to do?

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

It’s times like these that make us stop and have BIG THOUGHTS.

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

About God and life and family and change and perfection and miracles. 

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

photo: Dan Shalaby Photo

A new baby brings so many challenges for the new mom, which Amy has impressively met in the most relaxed manner. But also, introducing this little person into our household has transformed us into (I hope) better people. I’m not just talking about the mountains of laundry which (full disclosure) I hate doing. And when I say I hate doing laundry, I mean hate-with-the-fire-of-a-thousand-suns hate.

And yet…

I have been doing multiple loads every day without so much as a tiny complaint. WHO AM I??

It’s amazing to me that we, who are inherently selfish beings, are so ready to be stretched and to serve and do whatever is necessary to keep this guy comfortable and happy and meet his needs in whatever way we can. 

Laundry? Bring it. 

He seems to sleep better when he’s held a little upright. I surprised myself with my willingness to hold him like this for hours so both he and mama could sleep. I don’t even recognize myself in this scenario.

Call me 'Wella.'

Call me ‘Wella.’

And just like that, after only a few days, we had forgotten what life was like Before Sebastian. 

The proud grandfather. Call him 'PomPom.'

The proud grandfather. Call him ‘PomPom.’

I have loved watching everyone in the family come to embrace him. 

Amy introduces Sebastian (1 week old)  to his great grandmother, Luza (102).

Amy introduces Sebastian (1 week old)  to his great grandmother, Luza (102).

It just so happened that Adam was in town the first weekend we had him here and so I had the surreal pleasure of having all four of my kids and my newest grandson all together under one roof. I swear I was so crazy-happy I barely knew how to act. So I made a giant vat of my famous Carne con Papas. Because when in doubt, cook Cuban food. 

My four kids: Adam, Lucy, Amy & Sebastian, Jon

My four kids: Adam, Lucy, Amy & Sebastian, Jon

As much as it’s been an adjustment for all of us to have him here, Sebastian has been settling in to life at the Darby’s. 

Starting from the first day when his Cuban grandmother (that’s me!) marched into the hospital with a brand new bottle of violetas and an azabache. Appreciate all that Cuban crazy right here.

He handled it like the little Cuban trooper he is.

Sebastian, Violetas, and the Azabache.

Sebastian, Violetas, and the Azabache.

This is what the “new normal” is like around here.

We are so in love and so delighted to have him with us. Sebastian Darby has become a special kind of glue that has kept us all in the best state of crazy-happiness. 

And because we’re Cuban, we had to choose his nickname right away. Call him ‘Bash.’

Amy and her beautiful boy. *personalized blanket by HeartFeltGiftz on Etsy.

Amy and her beautiful boy. *personalized blanket by HeartFeltGiftz on Etsy.

That crazy-in-love lady with the non-stop ear-to-ear grin leaving lipstick prints on this little boy’s cheek? Call her ‘Wella.’ 

You might also like:

For the Love of Hydrangeas Hi Adam! I Love You! My Big Fat Cuban Love Song Playlist Stuff I only do when I have out-of-town guests and then remember how much cool stuff there is to do around here.

Filed Under: Cuban-American Life

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Louise says

    June 20, 2016 at 10:02 pm

    ❤️

    Reply
  2. Magi Paleo Hemphill says

    June 20, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    Felicidades, Wella!

    Reply
  3. Amanda says

    June 20, 2016 at 10:17 pm

    I was waiting patiently…no wait, I’ll be honest, impatiently, for this post! Hi baby Bash!! You were born into one of the most awesomest families ever! xoxo

    Reply
  4. Susan Cardenas says

    June 20, 2016 at 10:25 pm

    Congrats, "Wella!" What a sweet little blessing. Congrats to Amy, too!! Enjoy! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Zachariah Zaiter says

    June 20, 2016 at 10:43 pm

    Te adoro!!!! This is the spirit Cuban Abuelas bring to the table!! My Mom included….. This post makes me happy ????????????

    Reply
  6. Aurora Diaz says

    June 20, 2016 at 10:46 pm

    Muchas felicidades! Esta precioso. Que Dios los bendiga a todos.

    Reply
  7. Carmen Vaknin says

    June 21, 2016 at 2:27 am

    Congratulations on your new grandson. I tried to teach my first grandson to say Abuela but he liked Ababa better. That is a love that you cannot explain to someone who doesn’t have grandkids. You are blessed with two and I am blessed with 3 boys and 2 girls. We are very lucky Cuban crazy!!!!!

    Reply
  8. ani o. says

    June 21, 2016 at 2:55 am

    Que nuestra Virgencita de la Caridad te lo bendiga. Felicidades.

    Reply
  9. Alba says

    June 21, 2016 at 3:21 am

    Congratulations Wella. I became Tita when my oldest 9year old grandson Evan couldn’t pronounce abuelita. That’s what came out and now his younger brothers Ian (7) and Elliott (2) call me Tita naturally, which I love, no calling this Cuban abuela "grandma" that’s for the maternal American grandma. As much as I’ve adored my 3 sons there are no words to explain what I feel for my 3 grandsons. It is so true you have to be a grandmother to understand the depth of our love for our grandchildren. Why is that? When we have a child we feel we can never love anyone more than this child until the grandkids come and it’s like nothing you can even explain. I’m sure all the abuelas here will agree, so God bless your new grandson and enjoy!

    Reply
  10. Lou says

    June 21, 2016 at 1:07 pm

    Congrats Wella! I’m equally obsessed with my nephew/Godson who turns 3 months old tomorrow. By the way, great nickname choice. My now 13 year old son’s name is Sebastian and we’ve been calling him Bash since he was a baby. Works well and is all kinds of cool! 🙂 Felicidades!

    Reply
  11. Lourdes S. says

    June 21, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    Welcome to the world, Sebastian! Congratulations, Wella Marta! All of your family looks great, especially, Bash and Amy. So beautiful. God bless him with ten thousand blessings of wealth, health and prosperity…which is already unfolding because of the assured protection of the azabache and Royal Violets! LOL…Thanks so much for your blog. It’s so uplifting and joyful. So essentially you have your very own Pixar "Piper" in the family…so fun.

    Reply
  12. Aleida Salvador-Harbeck says

    July 1, 2016 at 9:09 pm

    My heart is melting from this story♡♡♡♡

    Reply

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