Today was my first official Mother's Day. I celebrated last year, but it was more of a whiney "I deserve a present for carrying this giant baby that refuses to be born" kind of a celebration. This year was different. Elliot is nearly a year old, and is straddling the line between infant and child. Some days I don't know which side of the line she is on. She is so independent and big and proud of herself and just ready to run (literally). Sometimes I think if she could talk she would ask me to fix her a sandwich and talk politics over a couple glasses of milk. I get caught off guard when she gets upset and does one of her deep, belly cries, because it is so much like a baby and not typical of her usual behavior. This sounds terrible, but I actually like it when that happens, because I get to cuddle her, rock her, and make her sadness go away simply by being her Mommy.
This morning in church we had, in my opinion, an especially moving prayer. We prayed for all the mothers, but we also prayed for those who are not mothers even though they want to be, for those mothers who love their children so much they know that they cannot care for them and make the hardest selfless decision imaginable and let other families raise them, for mothers who have lost children to death, and for those that have lost children due to their own actions. It was a humbling experience and made me realize that in my celebration of myself and my mother and mother-in-law, etc., I didn't once stop to think of those who are hurting today. It also made me think of all the children on my dependency case load who are going through this day without their mothers and how hard that must be. As Elliot was sitting on my lap, with her head leaning against my heart, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that God entrusted me with this precious life. I can't believe I get to be Elliot's mom. Me!
I know this is getting a little heavy, so let's lighten it up a little with some pictures of my big girl. It has been crazy hot here the last week and a half or so, so we have been spending a lot of time outside. Girlfriend loves her pool time! Unfortunately, due to her taking a spill into the coffee table followed by a trip to the emergency room, we got to experience our first stitches this week (don't let me forget to put that in the baby book!) which means water time was limited. Somehow, we still managed to get plenty of pictures before the big accident.
Getting used to the water/perfecting our runway walk. #fierce
Enjoying a post-dip air dry. #longleggedbaby
We also recently made our first trip to Chuckie Cheese's for cousin Lorelai's birthday...
First Rides
I don't know if Poppy or Elliot had more fun! #poppydid
We've also been playing with the neighborhood children...
And seeing horses for the first time!
Yes, her finger is in his nose. #workingonourmanners
In conclusion, there are a lot of fun and exciting things happening over here. A lot of firsts, a lot of growth, a few tears (mostly mine), and a whole lot of gratitude. Happy Mother's Day!
