Sunday, January 30, 2011

Today Was The Day

Four years ago I remember exactly what I was doing on January 30th.  I was waiting...patiently waiting.

I was inspecting the freshly painted, pale yellow, nursery.  I was sitting in the newly purchased rocking chair looking at the perfectly stacked newborn diapers, inhaling the intoxicating scent of baby lotion, and switching between the pink and blue hand-stitched quilts that my grandmother had sewn with love for our first baby.

Our first baby girl.

I stood by the cherry wood crib that a loving Nana and Papa had bought just for our little blessing.  I stared...imagining that soon our baby would call this home.  I would be called mom.   It reminded me of our wedding day...when I became a wife.  A  new  title, "wife", and now, "mom".  It sounded strange to say it out loud.  Strange but good.  Real good.  And blissfully exciting.

Today was the day. According to the little wheel that the doctor spun around at my first prenatal visit...  According to the advanced technology of  ultrasound...  Today was the day Jon and I would no longer be a family of two. Today our first born baby was due.  The first stone in my family ring would be a garnet.  A deep red stone.  The color of love. 
  

Not to be left out, our second baby girl.















On January 30th, four years ago I was waiting.  And so you know, I continued to wait.  We all waited.  We waited 10 more days.  That means my garnet changed to the beautiful purple color of amethyst.  That also means that we will be celebrating soon.  We are planning a party at our house.  A perfect party to celebrate the day we became parents...the day our lives became better...the day I became mom.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Rendez-vous

Since the day our precious Lexi was born we've said the same words after she was tucked in for the night.  "Maybe tonight will be the night...the night she sleeps."

We wait for that moment when you wake up and realize your 'sleep like a baby' actually slept through her usual wake up times. We wait patiently to have the conversation:
Wife: "Did you get up?"
Husband: "No, did you get up?"
Wife: "No."
Only to be followed by the irrational thoughts...Is she alright? Is she still breathing?  Should I check?

And now our Lexi is entering her 18th month of life and I love our bedtime routine.  The smell of a freshly bathed Babe and the cuddliness of cozy winter jammies, the bedtime story, and the snuggles in the rocking chair.



I no longer say, "Maybe tonight will be the night..."  As  I move from the soothing motion of the rocking chair to lay Lexi in her bed for the night, I kiss her forehead and whisper, " I will see you at five."

Instinctively my eyes open at five o'clock am.  I listen and wait.
I anticipate the moment that will be coming...The call from my Babes. 

We have our routine.  I whisk her out of bed before her shrieks wake a sleeping big sister.  With sippy cup in hand and blankie in tow we settle into Mama Bear's bed for our final hours of slumber.  Lexi snuggles into the crook of my arm, rests her head on my chest and sleeps.  She sleeps as if it's the most comfortable pillow she's ever experienced.

Oh... the divine feeling of my Babes so close!  The sweet smell of her breath and the sensation of her peach fuzz hair tickling my nose as I kiss her head.  I have embraced this early morning rendez-vous of love...of bonding...of euphoria as know it will not last forever.   I want to bottle this feeling.  Preserve it. So it won't be forgotten.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Pitter Patter

I love my girls.

From the deepest part of my soul...from a part of my soul that I never knew existed.

A little piece of soul tucked way at the back that sits quietly in waiting...only to show its existence when one is blessed with the title "mom".  And once that little treasure chest is opened, it is all consuming.

And so...A glorious Monday.

From our first step out the door this morning, with the January air wrapped around us, a smile of delight as it is the first break from the unbearable temperatures we've been having and then a sigh of relief realizing that the juggling act of book bags and car keys and babies in snowsuits will be a little easier today without the windchill.



To the moment my soul babies are tucked into their snug little beds...I then tuck myself in with my own blankie on the couch. 

It is time to relax. 
Time to reflect on the day. 
And then it happens...

The pitter patter of tiny, little, I'm almost four years old, feet. Then comes the peek.  And here it comes...the proposition.  I anticipate it.  I know it is coming because I have been here before.
"Mom.  Can I snuggle you?  Just a little minute?"
I lift my blankie and feel her warm, bony little body wiggle onto my lap. She fits perfectly. Like the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle put into place.

And she sits.
Quietly.
Beaming because in her beautiful little mind she has won...won the privilege to stay up just a little longer.

But we know who the real winner is.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

A New Life

Well this is it!  I am officially a blogger.  I have long been drawn to this creative process.  I anxiously await notification of a new post from my favorite writers who have drawn me into their world through their various blogs.  They mingle in my brain throughout the days...like characters from a riveting novel that have captured my mind. 

I have finally decided to enter this world. I am excited!  It's like a blank scrapbook.  But instead of planning and choreographing the life of each page, I will create and learn as I go...

So here I am...on this random January day...giving birth to my creative baby. 
I promise to care for and nurture you from this tiny little post into the greatness I have visioned for you.

Welcome to the world my sweet little blog.  I anticipate great things ahead.