With her 1st birthday being in the books, I thought I might take a moment to reflect on the things that I've learned as a first time parent. There are obviously TONS of things, some more important than others, so I'll just give a quick rundown of things I am amazed by:
1) how long I can go without a shower/washing my hair, and yet not care. Suddenly, making sure that Edie is taken care of, groceries are bought, dinner is made, dishes are done, etc. just seems to take up more time. That being said...
2) how comfortable a pair of yoga pants can be...this is truly the mom uniform for me. Don't be confused...I did NOT just come from the gym. I came from home. Where I also did not shower.
3) how strong I am. Seriously, have you tried carrying a baby (15lbs), a diaper bag (10+lbs), groceries (?), and a diet coke? Up stairs? It's amazing. It really is some sort of super-human strength that automatically comes with being a mom. Hopefully, it also tones my arms a bit.
4) how many toys have crept into the house. Seriously!?? Where did all this stuff come from!??
5) how slightly crazy I can get over certain things. Example: her birthday party. I honestly don't think I ended up being as crazy as I thought I would be. But, I did have my husband build a lemonade stand. Butttttt, the fondant "1" on top of her cake did fall down (....could have been my fault) before all the guests arrived, and I didn't freak out. Also, the party was outside & right after the smash cake, it came a small monsoon. I also didn't freak out about that. Sooo...gimme some credit on that.
6) how not crazy I am about certain things. She put a ladybug in her mouth. And chewed it with her 2 teeth.....ok, get bug out of mouth before she swallows it. And if you can't...then, as my dad would say, "it's protein!" (I have always gotten bugs out of her mouth. Please don't think I really let her eat them). Her room is a disaster. Does it get under my skin? Yes. But, at the same time, she is a kid and she is having fun throwing her stuffed animals across the room.
7) how different kids are. Edie has barely any hair, 2 teeth, isn't walking. But another kid her age might have 10 teeth, braiding her hair, and running in a marathon. (Ok, not quite). Edie is still wearing some size 6 month cloths. She is in the 5th percentile for weight, 50th for height. She is just little. But, I guess I never really realized that "babies" were all so different. What may work for one child may not work for another. And that is OK! Just keep an open mind that just bc your kid did/said/grew/etc. doesn't mean that mine will do the same.
8) how excited she gets when she makes a new discovery/learns something. It's like her eyes just light up! She even claps for herself. We should always make sure our children know that we are proud of their accomplishments, even if it is saying "moo!" when being asked what a cow says.
9) how I can love a tiny little 17lb girl so stinking much. People said before i had her, "ohh, you'll never know how much you can love someone til you have a child". And that is so so so true. It's a completely different feeling. When she doesn't feel good & she just wants to be held. Or when she gets in trouble (mean daddy!) and wants mommy to hold her. I go in her room in the morning when she wakes up (btw, it's 9am and she is still asleep), and she just grins ear to ear when she sees me saying "Mama! Mama!" Best. Feeling. Ever.
Edie eats her first popcorn:
No comments:
Post a Comment