Mother's Day

Tomorrow marks my 3rd mother's day.  My first mother's day, I was 9 months pregnant and ready to pop.  My second mother's day, I was getting ready to watch my baby smash her first birthday cake. Now, here I am with a toddler ready to turn two and celebrating (?) having Oscar the Boston Terror for a whole year.

For me, I have two things that I love about Mother's Day. 

#1. I love that I have such an awesome mom that I am blessed to talk to on a daily basis who has taught me everything about everything.

#2. I love that I GET to be a mom.  For years, I watched people around me get pregnant and have babies...and I figured it would always just be a dream for me.  I never truly thought I would fall in love with someone so great and become mama to such a sweet little girl.

This is one of the first images I got to see of sweet baby Ayes.  This ultrasound was done at 10 weeks pregnant.  After seeing the images of Ayla, my mom nicknamed her "acorn" since we didn't know if she was a boy or girl, but one image it looked like her head had a little acorn cap on top.  The rest is history.  Later on, in January 2009, we found out our little acorn was indeed a girl, which is good since we already had her name picked out (but if she was a boy, we'd still be deciding!)

My mom is pretty amazing.  She is my hero and my best friend.  She has gone through more in life than most people do, yet she has come out on the other side of all her tragedies and struggles with such grace and humor.  We talk every morning.  We walk the bridge together.  We go couponing.  We also fight and bicker, but it never lasts long.  

When I had baby Ayla almost 2 years ago, she was there.  All night the night before she was born.  She camcorded the birth.  She told me, "She's almost here," until I insisted she stop.  She watched over me as I got stitched up, while Ayla got cleaned up.  And the second night in the hospital, when I hadn't slept in well over 24 hours, she insisted that I let her take care of Ayla so I could sleep.  She stayed because Brandon had to go back to work.  In the dark moments of exhaustion and stress that night, she brought me back from the edge.

When we finally got to come home, she went to Walgreens and got me all kind of post-baby supplies that I needed, including ice packs and a donut balloon for my unbearable cracked tailbone.  She brought them to me that very night, along with photos of the day Ayla was born.  

When I stopped eating out of stress and exhaustion, she brought me and Brandon Toojay's.  When we hadn't seen days of sleep, she came over with my sister so Brandon and I could nap.  

She convinced me to try on the wedding dress I'd been eyeing for months.  

She has always encouraged me to write, to tell my stories. 

She has stood by my side throughout my life when everyone else so easily turned away from me.

And she makes me laugh, my oh my, how she makes me laugh.  Let's just say that there have been many moments of inappropriate laughter shared between her and I.  

Thank you to my mom in more ways than I'll ever be able to put into words.

And thank you Ayla, for making me a mama.  Everything I do, I do for you.

 

"Your little hands wrapped around my finger
And it's so quiet in the world tonight
Your little eyelids flutter 'cause you're dreaming
So I tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

To you, everything's funny
You got nothing to regret
I'd give all I have, honey
If you could stay like that

Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
Just stay this little
Oh, darling, don't you ever grow up, don't you ever grow up
It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you
Won't let no one break your heart
No, no one will desert you
Just try to never grow up, never grow up"

-Taylor Swift, "Never Grow Up"