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.
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.
Who knew that holding and staring would become our favorite thing to do?
It’s times like these that make us stop and have BIG THOUGHTS.
About God and life and family and change and perfection and miracles.
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.
And just like that, after only a few days, we had forgotten what life was like Before Sebastian.
I have loved watching everyone in the family come to embrace him.
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.
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.
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.’
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.’
Louise says
❤️
Magi Paleo Hemphill says
Felicidades, Wella!
Amanda says
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
Susan Cardenas says
Congrats, "Wella!" What a sweet little blessing. Congrats to Amy, too!! Enjoy! 🙂
Zachariah Zaiter says
Te adoro!!!! This is the spirit Cuban Abuelas bring to the table!! My Mom included….. This post makes me happy ????????????
Aurora Diaz says
Muchas felicidades! Esta precioso. Que Dios los bendiga a todos.
Carmen Vaknin says
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!!!!!
ani o. says
Que nuestra Virgencita de la Caridad te lo bendiga. Felicidades.
Alba says
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!
Lou says
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!
Lourdes S. says
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.
Aleida Salvador-Harbeck says
My heart is melting from this story♡♡♡♡