Amani AliyyaandWoody Randallare celebrating their son’s first birthday!
TheMarried at First Sightstars are reflecting on their parenthood journey as they celebrate their sonReign’s milestone birthday. The couple, who appeared on season 11 of the show, opened up exclusively with PEOPLE about the family’s first year.
“This first year of parenthood has been a huge learning experience,” the couple tells PEOPLE. “Not just learning about Reign, but ourselves also. [It’s] been challenging. Handling sleep regressions due to growth spurts or teething has caused a lot of sleepless nights.”
“It was hard but we made it through and couldn’t be happier to spend every day with him. Reign is one of the happiest babies we’ve ever met and that’s been worth every tough moment we’ve encountered.”
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Although the first year was challenging at times, the pair reveals they learned parenting was easier with a partner.
The couple opted not to have a party for Reign, explaining that they chose “not to spend money on a birthday party that he won’t remember.” Instead, the family will be going on a cruise to Mexico with Amani’s family.
“A family vacation seemed more appropriate,” the stars explain. “We can all enjoy ourselves onboard experiencing something new together. We’re looking forward to showing him the pictures of the cruise when he’s older. We still can’t believe he’s one!”
With his first year around the sun complete, Reign has spent his time trying many new things. “Reign has been walking lately and he’s so proud of himself,” the pair touts. “He started a few weeks before his birthday and hasn’t stopped yet.”
“His new thing is trying to run away after ‘getting caught’ with something. He has also gotten a lot more expressive with his sign language. He knows how to say ‘milk,’ ‘eat,’ ‘more,’ ‘please,’ and ‘all done.’ Reign’s also been talking a lot more. It’s been such a joy watching him learn and clap for himself after he’s accomplished something.”
As for advice to new parents, Aliyyah and Randall stress that giving the other grace is paramount. “Everyone is learning on the job and it’s important to extend the grace because nothing will happen perfectly.”
They continue, saying that new parents should “try to live in the moment and enjoy the small things. It all seems to go slow sometimes but you look back and a year has passed.”
source: people.com
