Tonight Elizabeth wanted to sleep in her big girl bed (which currently is just a mattress on the floor of her new big girl room) instead of in her crib. Although this is the goal we eventually wanted her to reach, tonight it just came too soon. We JUST started taking naps in there, with me by her side. In my mind, I had thought that we would do this for a week or so, then progress to taking naps in there by herself, and then finally move to spending the night in there. In my mind, this process would take about 3 weeks or so, not 3 days. But there she was, my little elfkin, sitting on her mattress saying, "Night-night," and as I looked at my husband with a worried face, I realized that my little girl is becoming a big girl sooner than I had expected or wanted.
Sometimes I feel guilty, being pregnant and forcing my little girl to grow up sooner than perhaps she is ready. If this new baby weren't coming so soon, she would be able to stay in her crib and not have to move to a big girl bed. My husband and I wanted our children to be close in age, and we both agreed that this was the best rooming situation for our family and our house, but is it forcing my daughter to grow up too fast? I guess I'll never know because it's happening already.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Moments of Bliss
Three moments of bliss today:
1. Sharing a family hug with Elizabeth, Mike, Cheetah, and Bear in the parking lot of a kids furniture store.
2. Giving a hundred kisses to Elizabeth and making her laugh so hard she had to catch her breath.
3. Singing "Jesus Loves Me" as I put Elizabeth down to bed and hearing her trying to sing along.
Oh, I love being at home, spending time with my family. I miss it so much. But perhaps I appreciate it more now because I do miss it so much.
1. Sharing a family hug with Elizabeth, Mike, Cheetah, and Bear in the parking lot of a kids furniture store.
2. Giving a hundred kisses to Elizabeth and making her laugh so hard she had to catch her breath.
3. Singing "Jesus Loves Me" as I put Elizabeth down to bed and hearing her trying to sing along.
Oh, I love being at home, spending time with my family. I miss it so much. But perhaps I appreciate it more now because I do miss it so much.
Monday, December 24, 2007
My Favorite Gift (so far)
Last Sunday I received my favorite gift of the season (so far!) Actually, it wasn't for me; it was for my daughter. We had our nannies over for a holiday thank you dinner, and they both arrived with a joint gift for Elizabeth, both very excited to give it. It looked square and thin in shape, and I guessed it was a book that they had purchased for Elizabeth. I thought to myself how sweet that was, especially since one of the nannies had mentioned that Elizabeth seemed bored with all of the books in the house. About an hour later I found out that what was inside the package was far beyond a book to relieve the boredom of my daughter. It was a treasure to both her and me.
The title of the book is "Elizabeth's Day with Bear," and the content of the book is a play by play of what my daughter's day looks like at 19 months with her best friend "Bear." The text is accompanied by pictures that both nannies had taken while watching her over the past 3 months. The pages show how she and Bear eat breakfast together, play blocks together, go for a walk together, play at the park together, and take a nap together. Mundane as it may seem, for a working mother, it is a treasure.
As I read through the book, tears welled up inside of me. These were the things that I used to do with my daughter on my days off last year. Now, two other young ladies get to do these things with her. You would think jealousy would take over here, but instead a sense of gratefulness came upon me. I'm so thankful that these two young ladies take such good care of my daughter and that they care for her enough to continue doing these things with her. And I'm so thankful that they love her enough to take the time to make a book that chronicles what her life is like at this point.
A couple of months ago a friend of mine sent me an email describing her point of view of working mothers. In the email, she wrote, "As for the working full-time thing...I believe in it. [My daughter] will be in wonderful hands and I will be doing what I've been trained and equipped to do for years. Instead of just one person benefitting from my love and skills, I get to help dozens of kids who don't come from the healthy place that [my daughter] does. It's what the kingdom of heaven is about - using your talents to bless others. We'll read to, sing to, cuddle with, and love [my daughter] in the morning, evening, and weekend. During the 9 or so hours of separation, she'll be learning social skills, learning to love others and be loved by others (besides us). It's more than just being great moms - it's doing our part as humans on this earth."
Last Sunday with the help of my daughter, a bear, and a book, I finally realized the latter part of this email. And I'm so grateful for that gift.
The title of the book is "Elizabeth's Day with Bear," and the content of the book is a play by play of what my daughter's day looks like at 19 months with her best friend "Bear." The text is accompanied by pictures that both nannies had taken while watching her over the past 3 months. The pages show how she and Bear eat breakfast together, play blocks together, go for a walk together, play at the park together, and take a nap together. Mundane as it may seem, for a working mother, it is a treasure.
As I read through the book, tears welled up inside of me. These were the things that I used to do with my daughter on my days off last year. Now, two other young ladies get to do these things with her. You would think jealousy would take over here, but instead a sense of gratefulness came upon me. I'm so thankful that these two young ladies take such good care of my daughter and that they care for her enough to continue doing these things with her. And I'm so thankful that they love her enough to take the time to make a book that chronicles what her life is like at this point.
A couple of months ago a friend of mine sent me an email describing her point of view of working mothers. In the email, she wrote, "As for the working full-time thing...I believe in it. [My daughter] will be in wonderful hands and I will be doing what I've been trained and equipped to do for years. Instead of just one person benefitting from my love and skills, I get to help dozens of kids who don't come from the healthy place that [my daughter] does. It's what the kingdom of heaven is about - using your talents to bless others. We'll read to, sing to, cuddle with, and love [my daughter] in the morning, evening, and weekend. During the 9 or so hours of separation, she'll be learning social skills, learning to love others and be loved by others (besides us). It's more than just being great moms - it's doing our part as humans on this earth."
Last Sunday with the help of my daughter, a bear, and a book, I finally realized the latter part of this email. And I'm so grateful for that gift.
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