forever + always my baby you'll be

Saturday, April 4, 2015

motherhood. 
i've written about this before, but it's been awhile and i've learned a lot since then.
motherhood is exhausting. it's trying and hard and the days are long.
it's selfless and unconditional.
it's sitting on the kitchen floor while you should be finishing dinner, but instead you take a time out to play with your baby who desperately wants your attention.
it's coming home and looking at yourself in the mirror after a long days worth of activities to realize you have yogurt (dried) in your hair and snot on your shirt.

it's waiting patiently while walking down or up the stairs because she wants to do it all by herself. 
it's waking up in the middle of the night to clean up the throw up that is all over her and her crib.
it's loads and loads of laundry and dishes.
it's moments of taking a break to breathe and compose yourself when in reality you might want to yell with frustration.
it's picking up, wiping up, cleaning up all. day. long.
it's messy cars.
it's spills.
motherhood is the hardest job in the world.
BUT it's also the BEST.

it's love. it's compassion. it's joy. 
it's seeing her face light up with joy when you walk into her room to get her when she wakes up.
it's those tender hugs and (open-mouthed) kisses over and over just because.
it's the overwhelming feeling of love when she smiles and you feel like you could squeeze her for the rest of your life.
it's having a little companion coming with her everywhere you go and being your best little buddy.
it's watching them learn and feeling SO PROUD when they understand.
it's watching her run to the window to wave goodbye to you over and over and smash her face against the window making your heart break that you have to leave her to go to a pilates class for an hour.
it's getting giddy when you hear her say new words or do a new dance move.
it's seeing the world through her little curious and oh so observant eyes.
it's beautiful.
it's sweetness.
it's rewarding and enriching.
my life is infinitely better since the day i became a mom to my sweetest little pipey's.
yes there are moments when i want to throw in the towel, but then there are moments where i want to sing at the top of my lungs because i love her SO DANG MUCH. I'm simply obsessed.
there's a quote that i love that goes, "the days are long, but the years are short." and that couldn't explain more perfectly how motherhood is. 

i hope my children always remember me being present and involved in their lives.
i want them to always know how much they are loved and how amazing they are.
i want them to learn to love others with all their capacity..even if they are different than them. 
because in the end, love is what makes the world go round, and I truly believe that that starts within the home, within the relationships in the home, within the relationship with mother and child. (father and child too.)

im so grateful to have the opportunity to be a MOM! it's my best accomplishment in this life thus far..and i only have one! more babies to come..i promise ;)


ps. I'm working on being IN the picture more than just being the one taking them. 
hence the plethora of mama-pipes pics.

18 MONTHS

Saturday, April 4, 2015

welp. looks like I've neglected this blog the past few months, but I'm determined to be better.
i want to write things down so i don't forget them..like my eighteen month old babe!
you can read if you want, but I'm really just writing this for records sake :)
im loving this age.
random facts about the boobooz at 18 months:
-says a little over 10 words: dada, mama (although she prefers to say dada all day), doggy, ball, bubbles, elbow "bel-bow" (random i know), go, hi, yaaaa, no-no, toes, choo-choo, shoes, and Jesus.
-loves to eat: YOGURT!, chocolate, smoothies, pb&j sandwiches, lara bars/any kind of bar, graham crackers, water..
-loves: to be FREE..free spirit, this girl..as long as she has room to run, then she's happy. loves the beach, park, "swimming" - she's obsessed with jumping into the pool over and over and over..her blankie and binkie, a few of her stuffed animals, kicking a soccer ball, dancing, and she loves to laugh...she cracks up randomly over nothing. its kind of hilarious.
-goes to bed at 8ish - wakes up at 7.30ish
-if you ask her to "do your eyes" she'll roll her eyes to the side and it kills us..although i have a feeling the whole eye rolling thing won't be as cute when she's 13..
-if you ask her "where's your muscles" she totally poses while "flexing" her arms.
-if you ask her to "squeeze your cheeks" she'll full on grab and pinch her cheeks for you
-if you ask her to "show me your happy face" she'll give you a full on cheeser face with a scrunched nose and everything
-can point to her nose, eyes, ears, hair, head, mouth, teeth, tongue, shoulders, elbow, hands, fingers, belly, belly button, bum bum, feet, toes
-every time you put a new outfit on her or her shoes or do her hair, she'll wait for you to say "ohhhh sooo pretty" and then proceed to smile and laugh because she knows how cute she looks.
-takes 1 nap a day..around 12:30 and sleeps for about 2.5 hours (i usually have to wake her up everyday since I have to go nanny, but the days i don't nanny she usually sleeps for 3)
-loves mickey mouse clubhouse..still
-hates sitting in the shopping cart - shopping is a nightmare..the only way we get through it is if i bring or buy some treats.
-threw a huge tantrum the other day in Michaels: broke a vase, screamed her head off for some food (told you, the only way we get through it is if i bring treats), only wanted to be held but when i'd pick her up she wanted to get down, took everything off the shelf and threw it on the ground and in the shopping cart, finally found some goldfish in my backpack and she threw them all over the floor...you get the point..it was a hot mess. and i had to find an empty aisle where no one was around to take a minute and breathe before i lost it..but we made it out ok and found a lollipop in the car and she started laughing and kissing me when i gave it to her..WHAT? girls must be born this way with mood swings...orrrr it's just my daughter...either way, I'm in for it.
-is a social butterfly..says hi to everyone and waits for them to look at her..
-BUT also has a shy side..doesn't love when everyone is watching/all over her..she gets overwhelmed
-so independent - doesn't care if I'm there or not -- people often yell out "WHO'S CHILD IS THIS" thinking she's lost but I'm always watching and she does better when I'm not hovering. (i love how people freak out about this..)
-she loooves anything with wheels - cars, trucks, strollers, shopping carts, etc.
-obsessed with dada. wakes up saying his name, says his name while eating, looks out the window and says dada thinking he's coming home, points to the door says dada thinking he'll walk through the door..you get the point.
-still loves to give open mouthed kisses ...trying to teach her to close her mouth
-loves flowers and has to stop and smell each one when we go on walks
-loves the choo-choo train. when we're at the beach she gets so excited when it goes by..also, we can hear the train from our house and she freaks out then too..she loves it.
-really really loves dogs.
-loves to play with older kids - especially girls. and they always seem to take her under their wing and play with her/help her/everything. she lets them do things with her that she would never let me do (pick her up whenever they want, pull her by her hand to go somewhere, etc)
-such a good helper -- really into helping out with laundry, dishes, cleaning her room..
ill tell her to put her books away and she runs and does it..hope this keeps up ;)
-loves playing with her cousins so much
-is a beach girl through and through...took her to the snow back in february..she liked it but she was made for the sand.
-doesn't love being in her stroller..would rather be out of it and pushing it
-i've learned that as a mother, i have to pick my battles. I'm not always going to win, but that's ok. life's too short to worry about the dumb stuff ..for example..her little stroller for her baby. she's obsessed and the last 2 times we've been to the beach, she had to bring it. like on the sand. if i tried to take it away she would scream bloody murder..but i think we're slowly getting over this..i have also learned that she doesn't do well when being yelled at (yes, i've yelled at her -- oops..im learning too) but she doesn't respond to that. if i kindly say "piper, stop crying." she usually stops. or "piper, calm down, show me what you want"..she'll grab my hand and show me. my next kid might be totally different and will respond to something else, but for now, this is approach works best with her.
-can't get enough of sunglasses..hands down her favorite accessory.

i think that about covers it.
hurrah for 18 months!
im excited to see her change in the coming months..they say 18-24 months is the language explosion..i can't wait for that. (i say that now, but... ;) )

get ready for picture overload..
















^ this photo kind of makes me emotional for some reason..that focused look on her face while she watches the birds fly by, the sandy legs, shovel in hand, sprig of a ponytail, diaper bum..i wish i could freeze time and keep her like this forever. i love her so much it hurts
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