Dear Friends and Family,
Happy Mother's Day to all, especially to my Mom and Mother-in-love! You both are amazing women and wonderful role models for me, Chris and Claire. Thank you for all you did and still do for us!
This weekend was fabulous because my sister came up to visit, and I got to spend Mother's Day with my family. We had so much fun! Mother's Day evoked some deep thoughts about motherhood. This year I realized two things: First, that calling myself a full time Mom is totally the wrong term. Mostly because when I hear the term "full time", I think of a 40 hour work week, which motherhood is not. So what should we call this labor of love instead? "Perpetual Mom?" "24/7 Mom?" Let me know if you have any better job titles, because there are days when I'm so burned out, that telling people I'm a full time mom doesn't seem to justify what I do! I'm not trying to short change my amazing friends who balance a career with motherhood either, they deserve a good title too, but I'm too sleep deprived to think of one!
Why am I sleep deprived with a one-year-old? Claire is teething, so now she is not only waking at 5:30am, but she is also waking 3-5 times a night! UGH! Prayers are definitely needed! On top of all of this, she has been skipping naps and not going down well for the one nap she does take. Then during the day she clings to my side like Velcro.
In an effort to get her to go back to sleep yesterday morning, I actually climbed in her crib with her and pretended to sleep while she jumped on my head for 15 minutes! Eventually she tired of this and laid down next to me, then drifted off to blissful sleep! She slept until 7:30am and I felt like it was a huge victory.
Before I start to sound like a bitter Mommy, I should get back to the second thing I realized this Mother's Day, and (believe it or not!) that's how much I love my new life as a mom. I told Chris the other night that since having Claire, I feel like I've been reborn too. Every moment that I experience from now on will be compared only with the moments since Claire was born. I still remember the days before I became a mom, but let's face it, that old life is never coming back. The day Claire was born, I became a mom, and I'll be a mom now until the day I die. Not that I see that as a life sentence! Instead I see it as a HUGE blessing! Every moment now is richer. Even the fussy and early waking times come with tight hugs that pull on my heartstrings and deep "I love you gazes" that say, "Mommy, I need you." And the happy times are filled with smiles, giggles, sparkling eyes, and rosy cheeks. It's a wonderful life, and I look forward to all of the moments to come!
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| This early bird is too adorable to hold her sadistic sleep patterns against her! |
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| "I may still be in my PJs, but accessories are still appropriate!" |
For Mother's Day, Sara treated me to a manicure and pedicure at a local nail spa! We went early on Saturday before things got crowded. Once our toes were summer ready, we took Claire down to the beach for some play time!
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| "I've got my pails! Now I'm ready to play in the sand!" |
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| Claire looks forward to crushing Aunt Sara's sand castle! |
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| "Hmmm....what should I put in here? Sand or water?" |
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| Claire and I fill a bucket with sand! |
After the beach, we headed up to the Old Stein Inn for dinner! They had a polka band for Mayfest!
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We always order this German Chocolate Cake as soon as we sit down so they don't run out before we get to dessert!
It's AMAZING! |
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| Out in the biergarten, Claire claps along with the music! |
Claire tries a lemon and dances to the polka band!
http://youtu.be/JGU1FMaIrkg
After dinner, and once Claire was in bed, Sara and I went out for an evening walk around the island.
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| Sara takes in a Turkey Point sunset! |
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| AMAZING! |
The next morning we went to 8:30am Mass. Sara let Claire play dress-up with her jewelry while we got ready!
After Mass, we all took a nice nap and then went to Chipotle for lunch! YUM! Erica and Kasey invited us over for a boat ride too! It was SO much fun!
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| Excited for a boat ride with friends on a beautiful day! |
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| Claire takes boat safety very seriously and didn't complain a bit about her life jacket! She was such a trooper! |
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| Claire chills with Erica and Chris while munching on ice cubes! |
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| Captain Kasey took us to Annapolis to see the Naval Academy and docks from the water! |
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Me and my WONDERFUL family!
Thanks, Kasey and Erica for making this Mother's Day memorable! |
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| While we were docked in Annapolis, Claire went after the ice chest for more ice cubes! |
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| You two are too cute! |
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| Time to go home! Aunt Sara cuddles with Claire while we head out of Annapolis! |
Sara went back to Greenville, SC on Monday night and I miss her so much already! Thanks so much for coming to visit us, Sis!
I hope everyone else had a great weekend!
Love,
Bethie
Ugh, the sleeping thing is brutal. Everett has done that with all his molars. The good news is that it only lasts a couple of weeks, until the teeth come in. The bad news is that it lasts A COUPLE OF WEEKS. Have you tried giving her Motrin before bed? You can also try giving her a Tylenol suppository at night the first time she wakes up (believe it or not, the suppository disturbs them less than choking down the syrup). They sell the suppositories under the name FeverAll, and they come in two different strengths. The pharmacist can tell you which to give Claire (it's based on weight). The pain relief really helps them get back to sleep and sleep deeply. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI think that it is hysterical that you got into the CRIB with Claire!! I wish you had somehow gotten a picture of that! You're so right about motherhood though...the past? gone! The now, with kids? SOOOOO much sweeter! Also, I was wondering if Claire ever gets confused when Sara is around. I know we used to! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Christi! A picture of me in the crib would have been a riot! When I woke up, my leg was asleep and I was drooling on one of Claire's favorite stuffed animals! Let's just say that I vowed to never do that again! Re: Sara, Claire doesn't get us confused, but she does get confused at seeing someone who looks and sounds so much like Mommy! It is always funny to see her reaction when she sees Aunt Sara again.
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