I love it when....

• I say "where's your nose?" and you stick your finger inside it
• You say shoes "soos"
• Your binky brings you sheer joy, and how you prefer the dark blue one
• You blow kisses to the grocery store clerk when we leave
• You spend more time yelling at Charlie to leave the kitchen when you eat, then you do eating
• That painful screech comes out of your mouth when you see a bird
• You hug everyone, and all your stuffed animals too
• You clap after I sing, the only applause I'll ever get!
• You bite the tips off of your crayons and then come to me to scrape your tongue
• You celebrate at the sight of your toothbrush
• You run to the mirror when we call you handsome
• I rub your back at bedtime and you tuck both arms tightly under your belly
• You race at full speed down the hall when daddy and I pick you up from school
• I realize you've been recording what I say and do, and now playing it back for me
• You spit on flowers when I say to smell them
• You growl at dogs
• I can hear you and daddy laughing in the other room
• You lay in your crib and talk to yourself before anyone comes in
• You grab my hand to walk
• You dance and somehow get us dancing, to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" on the fridge DJ
• You group hug me and daddy
  

Live in the moment (s)

Ok I knew it had been a while since my last post, but February?! I have moments throughout the week where I tell myself "ok I have to post this" but then another week goes by and another. Now proven its been months. Some are the key milestones, most of which I've now forgotten. Others are the "I am THAT mom" moments I swore I'd never.... And others just great times captured on film yet to be posted.

Highlights of my last few months:

- the legalization of my nephew, Samuel

- a couple's weekend, time alone with my hubby

- countless days and nights spent with friends and family

- watching Breck grow stronger and taller and more intelligent as his curiosity soars

- bickering and laughing with Dave, sometimes bickering about something so irrelevant, we just end up laughing

- keeping the balance between my 3 jobs- my career, mamahood, marriage

Mamahood is hard and exhausting yet I wouldn't trade it for the moon. The toughest moments sometimes crack me, then Breck will crack me up. It tests your spirit, your marriage, your independence, your patience. But if I've learned anything in the last 18 months its this: life is too short, with much more meaning now that I have a son. Too short to always be clean and tidy. Too short to stay mad. Too short to have everything planned out. Too short to worry that tonight we ate the worst frozen fish sticks for dinner.

As I told Dave last night, being a parent is the hardest job on the planet. And for as much stress as it can put on a relationship, for as little alone time or as little sleep as you never get, I wouldn't change it for a second.

Live in the moment. Be spontaneous. Let your house get dirty. Let your kids leave the house with a crusty nose. And always know that in these moments, there is indeed another mom doing the exact same thing.