Braden and Brinley

"I love you today
I love you tomorrow
I love you as deep as the sea
I love you in joy
and I love you in sorrow
you can always come home
to me."
~Andrew Peterson

nicknames

I can't believe that it's been 15 months since Brinley was born. The time has just flown by! In those 15 short months, we have managed to accumulate quite a few nicknames for this adorable little girl. They include:

• monkey (my favorite and so fitting!)
• munchkin
• brin brin
• girly girl
• cutie patootie
• binbee (Braden's favorite)
• short stuff

With the many choices, I wonder what she will start calling herself?

Before I was a Mom...

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn’t worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn’t want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn’t stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn’t know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body.
I didn’t know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn’t know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn’t know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

ksu spring game

It was quite exciting to take the kids to their first football game yesterday. Braden didn't like the loud noises and had to wear ear plugs and Brinley was content to walk up and down the row we were sitting in and climb on the bleachers. Needless to say, Jason and I did not get to watch much (if any) of the game and we ended up leaving after the first quarter. At least we got part of the experience! After we left we visited the Bug Gardens on campus which creeped me out, but Braden seemed to enjoy. It was nice to visit Manhattan for the day!

first lost tooth

I can't believe I have a child old enough to lose a tooth! Braden lost his first tooth on April 23 while eating pizza. He said that he took a bite of pizza and thought he had bitten a popcorn kernal (in pizza?), but it was actually his tooth. He was super excited and ran to get his new tooth fairy pillow. He also had a VERY hard time falling asleep that night waiting for the tooth fairy to arrive. She gifted him with 2 Sacajawea dollars and a pack of Trident gum. Tooth fairies can only bring tiny gifts!

my little honey bunches

Braden has started becoming very complimentary toward me lately. For seemingly no reason at all he will come to me and give me a hug and kiss and say, "You're pretty Mommy." I wonder how long this will last?

something new

Welcome to the days are long, but the years are short. This is my outlet — I can write and reflect in this space as well as keep in touch with you, my family and friends. For though sometimes at the moment, the day seems so long, it is often that the children are already in bed and I wonder where the time went? I want to remember and record everything from the good times to the not-so-good times in day-to-day life. Therefore, I'm trying something new today. Something that will hopefully be a record I will look back on and cherish of the day-to-day happenings of my life. I want to remember much more about my children's lives than can fit in the typical baby book and thought this was the way to go. We'll see how long I stick with it, being that I am quite the perfectionist and tend to to rethink, reread, and retype everything I write. I wonder what others will think. I've decided to put that out of my head and just document for me and I'll see where that takes me. The days are long, but the years are definitely short and I want to remember both the good times and the not-so-good times of everyday life. Happy reading!