Thursday, August 30, 2012
Soon Enough Little Sister
In just a few short months Presley will be joining her big sister at Preschool. For now, she enjoys doing the drop off & pick up with Momma!
Sweet Dreams Baby Girl
Tuesday night as I was putting my big girl to bed I stopped and hugged her. I know that sounds weird, because come on, I hug her all day long, but what I mean is that I REALLY hugged her. I held her close to my heart, felt her hair brush my check, and smelt her sweet perfume of little girl sweat mixed with bath soap. And, she held on to me the same way she did when she was a wee one, not that long ago.
As we were embraced in this beautiful moment I whispered in her ear that she would always be my baby, that I loved her more then she knew, and that I never wanted her to grow up. Once again the tightness began to constrict my throat and I could feel those salty tears pricking from the corners of my eyes. This time I blinked those glistening gems back with a big smile for the sake of not having to explain to my innocent 3 year old how some tears are happy, some are sad, and others are a mix of bittersweet emotions.
When we finally pulled away, my sweet baby girl lifted her bright blue eyes to mine with tears outlining her tan little cheeks. I waited a minute or two and then gently questioned why she was crying. Giulietta shook her head swiftly and stated, "I'm not crying!" Maybe her adamant denial was due to fear of embarrassment, or simply because she didn't realize or understand quite why she was crying. However, I took her soft pink cheeks in between my palms and wiped away her little river while explaining to her that they were happy tears, not sad.
She lunged forward into one more warm embrace, and my heart smiled. My sweet baby turned little girl felt exactly the same thing I did at the very same moment...unconditional love, mixed emotions about growing up, and simplistic beauty.
As we were embraced in this beautiful moment I whispered in her ear that she would always be my baby, that I loved her more then she knew, and that I never wanted her to grow up. Once again the tightness began to constrict my throat and I could feel those salty tears pricking from the corners of my eyes. This time I blinked those glistening gems back with a big smile for the sake of not having to explain to my innocent 3 year old how some tears are happy, some are sad, and others are a mix of bittersweet emotions.
When we finally pulled away, my sweet baby girl lifted her bright blue eyes to mine with tears outlining her tan little cheeks. I waited a minute or two and then gently questioned why she was crying. Giulietta shook her head swiftly and stated, "I'm not crying!" Maybe her adamant denial was due to fear of embarrassment, or simply because she didn't realize or understand quite why she was crying. However, I took her soft pink cheeks in between my palms and wiped away her little river while explaining to her that they were happy tears, not sad.
She lunged forward into one more warm embrace, and my heart smiled. My sweet baby turned little girl felt exactly the same thing I did at the very same moment...unconditional love, mixed emotions about growing up, and simplistic beauty.
The First Day of Her Last Year
It was almost four years ago that I welcomed my sweet Giulietta into this beautiful place we call home. At the time, I never knew how much one little person could change my world, my being, my everything. With each passing month, milestone, and year my girls growth has been a breathtaking experience to witness. There has been many moments when I felt my heartstrings pull a little extra tighter because the growing, the changing, and the new were so captivating. Some of these moments have been big milestones, where every Momma sheds a tear, while others have been what one might consider insignificant, but I on the other hand deem HUGE.
No matter the type of moment, I always get that tightening in the back of my throat as my tear ducts begin to swell and propel my emotions forward. Sometimes I try to hold them back in order to keep composure, to appear that I am that Momma who has it together when in fact we all know that I don't. I'm not sure why I do this; I have no shame! I am proud to be deemed the emotional roller-coaster type who is comfortable letting people know how I feel. And, I find it important that my girls see how much their achievements make not only my lips smile & my eyes puddle with tears, but my heart too.
Tuesday was a big day for me, for Giulietta, for all of us. Tuesday was not only a move up to a different classroom and different teacher, but it was also the First Day of her Last Year of Preschool. (Many of you may wonder what the heck I'm talking about since she is only three, but that is a story for a much later date.) I had been thinking about this day, this HUGE milestone for weeks ,and mentally preparing to make it special and perfect.
My girl needed a new outfit, a special breakfast, a new lunch tote, her hair all done up, and of course a mini photo shoot on our porch.
The night before Giulietta's BIG debut in Room 4, I laid her outfit out, sewed her up a new Hello Kitty lunch tote, painstakingly rolled up some homemade mini cinnamon rolls for her to enjoy for breakfast the following morning, and thoughtfully put together a well balanced lunch for her first day. Then, I tried to sleep through the first day of school jitters I felt for my baby. The morning was perfect! Giulietta enjoyed breakfast, dressed excitedly in her new clothes, jumped for joy when I showed her the new lunch tote I had made the day before, sat patiently while I tried to make her hair look perfect, and practically ran out of the door when I gave the go ahead.
We took a few minutes to get those iconic shots of her on our porch, which now that I look at, our spacious porch somehow looks so small with my Big girl standing on it this year. I loaded everyone in the car, and we were off to Room 4, to the heartstring tug-a-war, to the growing and learning! And, all the while I kept thinking about how quickly all this had come...the first, the first of the last, and then later this year-the last!
With tears brimming my eyes and blurring my vision I watched my baby turned little girl skip up to the front gate of her school, excitedly find her name tag, pull the handle of her new classroom door and walk off to enjoy The First Day of Her Last Year of Preschool without ever looking back
Well...maybe only once when I called her name!
No matter the type of moment, I always get that tightening in the back of my throat as my tear ducts begin to swell and propel my emotions forward. Sometimes I try to hold them back in order to keep composure, to appear that I am that Momma who has it together when in fact we all know that I don't. I'm not sure why I do this; I have no shame! I am proud to be deemed the emotional roller-coaster type who is comfortable letting people know how I feel. And, I find it important that my girls see how much their achievements make not only my lips smile & my eyes puddle with tears, but my heart too.
Tuesday was a big day for me, for Giulietta, for all of us. Tuesday was not only a move up to a different classroom and different teacher, but it was also the First Day of her Last Year of Preschool. (Many of you may wonder what the heck I'm talking about since she is only three, but that is a story for a much later date.) I had been thinking about this day, this HUGE milestone for weeks ,and mentally preparing to make it special and perfect.
My girl needed a new outfit, a special breakfast, a new lunch tote, her hair all done up, and of course a mini photo shoot on our porch.
The night before Giulietta's BIG debut in Room 4, I laid her outfit out, sewed her up a new Hello Kitty lunch tote, painstakingly rolled up some homemade mini cinnamon rolls for her to enjoy for breakfast the following morning, and thoughtfully put together a well balanced lunch for her first day. Then, I tried to sleep through the first day of school jitters I felt for my baby. The morning was perfect! Giulietta enjoyed breakfast, dressed excitedly in her new clothes, jumped for joy when I showed her the new lunch tote I had made the day before, sat patiently while I tried to make her hair look perfect, and practically ran out of the door when I gave the go ahead.
We took a few minutes to get those iconic shots of her on our porch, which now that I look at, our spacious porch somehow looks so small with my Big girl standing on it this year. I loaded everyone in the car, and we were off to Room 4, to the heartstring tug-a-war, to the growing and learning! And, all the while I kept thinking about how quickly all this had come...the first, the first of the last, and then later this year-the last!
With tears brimming my eyes and blurring my vision I watched my baby turned little girl skip up to the front gate of her school, excitedly find her name tag, pull the handle of her new classroom door and walk off to enjoy The First Day of Her Last Year of Preschool without ever looking back
Well...maybe only once when I called her name!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
I bet you never would have thought...
Life sure has its turns. When I was a little girl my dad had a band, or maybe two, that played in our garage multiple times a week and were comprised of a bunch of "boys" well younger then himself. In reality, these "boys" were only a few years older then I, however we seemed generations apart, and after all they were my dad's friends so I never really bothered much with them unless they were shaking my holy crucifix off my wall (Yes..Eric that was you!). They gave me nicknames, played songs for me so I would leave the garage quickly, and always gave me the time of day no matter how annoying I might have been. As time went on, and these boys grew into men, some stuck around while others moved on.
Those that remained became part of our family. They witnessed my growth from a young girl trying to do my homework banging on the garage door, to a teenager aggravated by the tangled cords on the living room floor, to a college student who desperately needed to study at the exact moment they decided it was time to jam, to a blushing bride on my wedding day, and now a mother of two beautiful daughters that according to them look just like I did when I was young. And, they grew to. In fact, many of our lives formed a parallel. They got married around the same time I did, they had kiddos around the same time I did, and we grew together. They became not only my dads friends, but my friends too.
Friends who mean the world to me. Friends that I couldn't imagine not having as part of my life. Friends who trust, respect, and love me enough to ask me to be a very important part of their children's lives. Friends who know what an honor it is to be called the Godmother of their daughter.
So, as I sat at my Goddaughter's baptism a few weeks ago I looked around and realized that as I was banging on the garage door as a young girl, I never imagined that 15 or so years down the road I would have the honor of being the lucky Godmother of the daughter of one of those "boys" in my dads band.
It truly is amazing the turns life takes, the way that role's are changed, reversed, paralleled, merged, and altered for the good. Even though then I couldn't imagine having the role of Godmother I have today; today I couldn't imagine not having my precious Scarlett Rose in my life. Now, I realize that's the beauty of growth, of life, and of friendships.
Those that remained became part of our family. They witnessed my growth from a young girl trying to do my homework banging on the garage door, to a teenager aggravated by the tangled cords on the living room floor, to a college student who desperately needed to study at the exact moment they decided it was time to jam, to a blushing bride on my wedding day, and now a mother of two beautiful daughters that according to them look just like I did when I was young. And, they grew to. In fact, many of our lives formed a parallel. They got married around the same time I did, they had kiddos around the same time I did, and we grew together. They became not only my dads friends, but my friends too.
Friends who mean the world to me. Friends that I couldn't imagine not having as part of my life. Friends who trust, respect, and love me enough to ask me to be a very important part of their children's lives. Friends who know what an honor it is to be called the Godmother of their daughter.
So, as I sat at my Goddaughter's baptism a few weeks ago I looked around and realized that as I was banging on the garage door as a young girl, I never imagined that 15 or so years down the road I would have the honor of being the lucky Godmother of the daughter of one of those "boys" in my dads band.
It truly is amazing the turns life takes, the way that role's are changed, reversed, paralleled, merged, and altered for the good. Even though then I couldn't imagine having the role of Godmother I have today; today I couldn't imagine not having my precious Scarlett Rose in my life. Now, I realize that's the beauty of growth, of life, and of friendships.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Circus Circus
The summer is never complete without a little trip to the circus! The girls loved all the big animals, exciting acts, and clown noses!
Stopping to take a Rest
Sometimes it's the little things you notice out of the corner of your eye while driving down the highway, which you have a million times before, that take your breath away. In March, on the way to meet my best friend Samantha's baby boy, Presley and I stopped to take a little rest.
What we didn't know is how absolutely beautiful and stunning our view would be from the small cement slab on the side of the cliff somewhere between our home and San Diego. Even though I had passed this hidden gem hundreds of time before, it never occurred to me to pull over. For some reason, on this day I took the plunge, followed the sign and was pleasantly delighted while spending a memorable moment with my little lady.
You better believe that we will stopping at our new resting place every time we take the journey down to San Diego, because after all life is too short to pass up moments of beauty like these.
What we didn't know is how absolutely beautiful and stunning our view would be from the small cement slab on the side of the cliff somewhere between our home and San Diego. Even though I had passed this hidden gem hundreds of time before, it never occurred to me to pull over. For some reason, on this day I took the plunge, followed the sign and was pleasantly delighted while spending a memorable moment with my little lady.
You better believe that we will stopping at our new resting place every time we take the journey down to San Diego, because after all life is too short to pass up moments of beauty like these.
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