Favorite Mommy Moments

I'll be honest, those first couple of weeks after we had Elsie were hard. I wasn't sleeping, was on a hormonal roller coaster, and I had this stranger whom I had just met attached to me for at least 20-45 minutes every 2-3 hours, 24 hours a day. It was exhausting and there were times when I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into and wasn't sure that I was cut out to be a mommy. She would cry, and we would try anything and everything to get her to stop. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't. Lucky for us, those days have improved and we've found a rhythm that works well for us. Elsie and I are no longer strangers and we are in sync most of the time. I couldn't be more grateful. As a tribute to Mothers Day, here are a few of my favorite things about being a mommy:

The Power Curl - I love the fact that on the evenings when it's my turn to give Elsie her bath, I have full license to style her hair however I want after she gets out. We normally go for a neat and sleek look up front, but opt for a power curl up on top. She has a natural swirl pattern to her hair and I love to coax it into a cute little curl on the top of her head. You can always tell if it was Ryan or me that gave her a bath the night before by looking at the top of her head. Ryan always combs it straight whereas I encourage every curl that I can.

Toothless Grins - There's nothing better than a little one who thinks her mommy is funny and lets out the biggest toothless smile. I get these smiles all the time and it never gets old. In fact, I oftentimes find myself behaving in ways I never dreamed just to see if she'll smile at me. Shaking my groove thing in my pj's in the living room with the shades open? Done it. Singing Bel-biv-devoe's "Poison" while 'dancing' her legs to the beat of the music? Done it. Contorted my face in ways unimaginable. Done it hundreds of times. That smile makes you forget about any crying or fussy times, and makes me feel like Sally Field, "You like me, you really like me!"

Cuddling Close - When Elsie was first born, there were a few nights in the beginning when she wouldn't sleep unless someone was holding her - normally that someone was me. I'd go to put her down just long enough to get a drink and use the bathroom and she'd wake up and cry instantly. There were three nights in a row where I would put her to bed, brush my teeth, wash my face, and get in bed and within 5 seconds of my head hitting the pillow, she would be crying in the baby monitor. It's almost as if she had her own monitor watching me... I would get frustrated. Luckily those days ended pretty quickly and now I love our cuddle time. On days where I don't work, we hang out and cuddle in the mornings while I drink my coffee and watch the news. It's something I know she won't be little enough to do forever so I'm taking full advantage of it while I can. There's nothing more calming in my mind than having your child peacefully asleep on your chest. I could sit there all afternoon and just watch her, in awe.

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Elsie has been doing great lately, as you can tell by the picture below, she's found her feet...and promptly put them in her mouth. Delicious! They were clean so we let her have at them, and took pictures of course. (As a side note, Elsie just woke up from her nap and I went upstairs to find her with her foot in her mouth, sock and all. Eww.)

Ryan went to Topeka with Alan today to see their friend Aaron out at the racetrack, so Elsie and I are hanging out on our own. Tomorrow my parents and my sister's family are coming over so we can celebrate a belated Mothers Day.

Hope everyone has a good weekend,

Sarah