Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I love you so much it hurts!
I always thought that the phrase "I love you so much it hurts" was silly. Isn't love a good feeling? Why would it hurt? Hurting isn't good. Then again, I always tend to over analyze common sayings. Today was the first time in all my 26 years that I finally understood that saying and I don't think it's silly at all.
After C's afternoon nap she has a hard time waking up. She's always a little sleepy and likes to sit and rock with me for a few minutes before she fully wakes up. It usually only lasts about 4 or 5 minutes, but I love those precious few minutes. I really feel that she needs me. I know she does need me - I change her, bathe her, feed her, entertain her, and fulfill all those types of needs, but in those few minutes she's like a sweet newborn who really needs her mommy and not a toddler whose independence grows every day. Today I went into her room after she woke up. I scooped her up and we went to sit in her chair. As soon as I sat down, she wiggled to get down and ran out of the room. I waited a few seconds before getting up. I walked into the living room and there she was - toys in hand and ready to go. She had run out to get her new foam sword and a few other random items (she picked up the sword at Target the other day and since it was the first time she "asked" for something I got it). I bent down and attempted to give her a hug. Denied. She was too busy playing with her stuff. That's when I felt it. My little girl no longer needed me to comfort her as she woke up. She's big enough to do it for herself. I felt an amazing sense of pride - at only 13 months she's incredibly independent and eager to learn and try new things. I want my girl to make friends easily and I want her to be comfortable on her own. But I also felt sad because I realized that I would not have Caroline as a little girl forever. She's growing up and today I could really see that. It hurt knowing that I would not be able to have this moment forever. Rocking her every afternoon has become such a ritual and I didn't think that it would come to an end so soon.
I know the point of having children is that they grow up. There are so many wonderful things that cannot happen unless she grows up. We wouldn't experience having other children, watching her first dance recital or soccer game, taking her to Disney World, and all those other amazing things. I am raising a child, after all, and not maintaining a child. I know it will be wonderful, but why does it have to be this fast?
**I wrote this post last Friday and as of today (Tuesday) she still has not wanted to be rocked when she woke up. She really did outgrow that!
A few of her favorite things...foam sword, Daisy's harness, mylicon bottle, raspberry teether. You know, just the normal stuff.
Adam and I thought this was hysterical. She carried around the sword and mylicon for hours.
She's really into holding lots of things lately.
Her Monday post afternoon nap things to hold - a fly swatter and the whisk attachement to the stand mixer. (Sorry for the blur, she was running!)
After C's afternoon nap she has a hard time waking up. She's always a little sleepy and likes to sit and rock with me for a few minutes before she fully wakes up. It usually only lasts about 4 or 5 minutes, but I love those precious few minutes. I really feel that she needs me. I know she does need me - I change her, bathe her, feed her, entertain her, and fulfill all those types of needs, but in those few minutes she's like a sweet newborn who really needs her mommy and not a toddler whose independence grows every day. Today I went into her room after she woke up. I scooped her up and we went to sit in her chair. As soon as I sat down, she wiggled to get down and ran out of the room. I waited a few seconds before getting up. I walked into the living room and there she was - toys in hand and ready to go. She had run out to get her new foam sword and a few other random items (she picked up the sword at Target the other day and since it was the first time she "asked" for something I got it). I bent down and attempted to give her a hug. Denied. She was too busy playing with her stuff. That's when I felt it. My little girl no longer needed me to comfort her as she woke up. She's big enough to do it for herself. I felt an amazing sense of pride - at only 13 months she's incredibly independent and eager to learn and try new things. I want my girl to make friends easily and I want her to be comfortable on her own. But I also felt sad because I realized that I would not have Caroline as a little girl forever. She's growing up and today I could really see that. It hurt knowing that I would not be able to have this moment forever. Rocking her every afternoon has become such a ritual and I didn't think that it would come to an end so soon.
I know the point of having children is that they grow up. There are so many wonderful things that cannot happen unless she grows up. We wouldn't experience having other children, watching her first dance recital or soccer game, taking her to Disney World, and all those other amazing things. I am raising a child, after all, and not maintaining a child. I know it will be wonderful, but why does it have to be this fast?
**I wrote this post last Friday and as of today (Tuesday) she still has not wanted to be rocked when she woke up. She really did outgrow that!
A few of her favorite things...foam sword, Daisy's harness, mylicon bottle, raspberry teether. You know, just the normal stuff.
Adam and I thought this was hysterical. She carried around the sword and mylicon for hours.
She's really into holding lots of things lately.
Her Monday post afternoon nap things to hold - a fly swatter and the whisk attachement to the stand mixer. (Sorry for the blur, she was running!)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Happy 4th of July!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We sure did! We had wanted to go to the beach but we weren't sure what Adam's work schedule was going to be like so we kept on waiting to make a decision. When Caroline's surgery got scheduled for Friday, July 1, we decided that we were going to have a nice, relaxing weekend at home - something that we don't often get to do, so this was a real treat for us! We had an amazing weekend and an even better Independance Day, filled with relaxing, BBQ, and fireworks!!
Thunder on the Mountain
July 4th, 2011
Thunder on the Mountain
July 4th, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Splash Pad
Yesterday afternoon we took Caroline to the Gardendale Splash Pad. It was so much fun and I cannot believe that it took us this long to go! She pretty much spent the entire time at the piano thing (see pictures below) but started to warm up to the other fun things toward the end. It was the perfect thing to do on such a hot day. I'm sure we'll be going back soon!
Caroline's Surgery
On Friday (July 1) we all woke up super early (like 4:00 early). A very sleepy mommy and daddy loaded up an every sleepier little Caroline to head to Children's Hospital for her tear duct surgery.
We got their a little early so we had to wait a while, even though Caroline was the first surgery of the day.
She was such a good little girl. They took all her vitals before heading back to the room. She didn't cry at all - as long as Daddy was near by.
We had to put her in a teeny tiny hospital gown. So adorable and so sad at the same time.
Like I said...Daddy had to be near by at all times. He took a half step away and she started crying so he had to pick her up again.
She fell asleep right before they came to take her back to the operating room.
We got to carry her to the doors before handing her off to a nurse. She didn't cry that much after we walked away (either that or we just couldn't hear her). We went back to the room to wait for the phone call that it was over. The doctor told us they would call in about 30-40 minutes. Almost exactly 30 minutes later they called and said it was over and they were waking her up. The doctor came to talk to us and assured us that Caroline had done beautifully and the nurse would bring her back to us in about 45 minutes. A very long 45 minutes later Caroline was finally in my arms! She was a little swollen, had a bloody nose and an IV but otherwise looked perfect. She fell asleep in my arms and I just rocked her for a while. Since she was able to keep her juice down, she was discharged by 9:00! She was a little sleepy and uncomfortable for the rest of the day, but we kept her as happy as possible with tylenol/advil, eye drops, nose spray and lots of hugs. They told us that she may not be hungry but she managed to eat a little at dinner. On Saturday morning she woke up and was back to her usual self. We are so thankful that it's over and so grateful that everything went well!! We feel so blessed to have had such an amazing doctor (Dr. Cogan) and live in a city with such an amazing Children's Hospital. Everyone was wonderful and made us feel so comfortable. I hope that we don't have to go back to Children's - but we are so happy it's near by just in case!
We got their a little early so we had to wait a while, even though Caroline was the first surgery of the day.
She was such a good little girl. They took all her vitals before heading back to the room. She didn't cry at all - as long as Daddy was near by.
We had to put her in a teeny tiny hospital gown. So adorable and so sad at the same time.
Like I said...Daddy had to be near by at all times. He took a half step away and she started crying so he had to pick her up again.
She fell asleep right before they came to take her back to the operating room.
We got to carry her to the doors before handing her off to a nurse. She didn't cry that much after we walked away (either that or we just couldn't hear her). We went back to the room to wait for the phone call that it was over. The doctor told us they would call in about 30-40 minutes. Almost exactly 30 minutes later they called and said it was over and they were waking her up. The doctor came to talk to us and assured us that Caroline had done beautifully and the nurse would bring her back to us in about 45 minutes. A very long 45 minutes later Caroline was finally in my arms! She was a little swollen, had a bloody nose and an IV but otherwise looked perfect. She fell asleep in my arms and I just rocked her for a while. Since she was able to keep her juice down, she was discharged by 9:00! She was a little sleepy and uncomfortable for the rest of the day, but we kept her as happy as possible with tylenol/advil, eye drops, nose spray and lots of hugs. They told us that she may not be hungry but she managed to eat a little at dinner. On Saturday morning she woke up and was back to her usual self. We are so thankful that it's over and so grateful that everything went well!! We feel so blessed to have had such an amazing doctor (Dr. Cogan) and live in a city with such an amazing Children's Hospital. Everyone was wonderful and made us feel so comfortable. I hope that we don't have to go back to Children's - but we are so happy it's near by just in case!
Happy Birthday Papa!
Last weekend we went to Haleyville. We haven't been there in a year (seriously...since Father's Day 2010 when C was only 4 weeks old!). Adam's parents had two pretty big floods in their house back to back so they've had a lot of work done to the house, which left us with no where to sleep. They've been so nice to come to Birmingham to visit us a lot this past year, but since their house is finally done we decided it was time to return the favor - especially since it was also Papa's birthday!
We had a wonderful time and hopefully it won't take us a year to go back! Happy Birthday Papa. We loved getting to celebrate your birthday with you!
We had a wonderful time and hopefully it won't take us a year to go back! Happy Birthday Papa. We loved getting to celebrate your birthday with you!
Last playdate with Robert
A couple of weeks ago we went to play with C's friend, Robert. We met this sweet little boy and his mommy at Mama & Me and we have really enjoyed getting to know them! They are moving to Mississippi and so we had to have one last playdate. We had a wonderful time and will really miss them!!
Caroline was more excited by the basket than the toys...
They aren't smiling, but since no one is crying so we considered this to be a good picture.
Caroline, Robert, and Jonathan
Good luck with everything Ginny and Robert! We will miss you!
Caroline was more excited by the basket than the toys...
They aren't smiling, but since no one is crying so we considered this to be a good picture.
Caroline, Robert, and Jonathan
Good luck with everything Ginny and Robert! We will miss you!
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