My baby girl has turned TWO. TWOOOO!!! Even at this age I’m
in awe at how FAST the time has gone. What really amazes me is how much my daughter
has grown, not just in the physical meaning but in everything she does from
feeding herself to holding full on conversations with me now. Her personality
has blossomed and so has her attitude…
Reflecting on these two years, I have been incredibly
blessed to have a healthy, happy baby. There is nothing to truly complain about
at all. She pretty much only went to the doctor for her scheduled check-ups. In two years, we have had only one ear infection
(thank you breastfeeding!), one episode of vomiting from a 24 hour bug and a
diagnosis of “curly toes”, where her pinky toes curl in a bit which apparently
is very common in small children, and a pronation of her left ankle, which
means it is protruding out a little bit which is easily corrected by proper,
supportive shoes. None of these things cause any real problems or affect her. I am so proud to say she has been ahead of her
age group through maturity and communication skills. People ALWAYS think she is
older than she is due to this and a decent height on her. Seems like all the
time I have spent teaching her letters, numbers and reading with her has paid off!
She has such great taste when it comes to food too! She is
my fruit and veggie girl and I couldn’t be happier! She was offered her first
donut at around 22 months and she didn’t even want it, she wanted a banana
instead. She often will clear her veggie section off her plate before anything
else. Getting her to drink milk took a
longgg time, I never thought it would happen. I think she was spoiled by breast
milk for 15 months and was not happy with the new option. She finally does
drink it though, as long as it is mixed with chocolate. She has no problem with it in her cereal or a
smoothie as well. That was truly a battle I wasn’t sure I was going to get past
but they say to just keep trying which is what I did. Little ones taste buds
change so fast and so often.
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| Miss Personality |
early not expecting tantrums to go away
anytime soon since we have officially hit the “terrible two’s” which I’m
convinced should come with a free prescription to a strong aspirin and a free
weekly wine and coffee delivery for every mother out there. There has to be
funding available for this program somewhere….
I have learned a lot about myself in the past two years as
well. This was not my ideal situation. I never imagined being a single mom, moving
back home to live with my parents and raise a child alone. No one plans on something like that but you
just deal with the cards you are dealt. I won’t sugar coat it, it’s hard, there
are days I wish I could call in sick, I want to have my own tantrum and there
have been multiple mommy meltdowns. Exhaustion….hah….I certainly know the true
meaning of that word. When Aubrey was 15
months old and I was visiting my old friends in LA, I went out for one night because
a fellow couple with a son two months older than Aubrey insisted I get out and they
take her for an overnight. I cried after leaving her because I had never left
her before. That in two years, has been my only night out away from her. That’s it. She has sat on my lap for dentist
appts, Dr. appts, chiropractor appts and I have even rocked her to sleep while
recovering from a foot surgery, lifted myself up with one hand, on one foot and
got her in the crib while pretty crippled. I’ve discovered I do have a Super
Mom gene in me I can tap into. She’s healthy and happy and we have made it this
far.
I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wish I had help…that I have
cursed her father’s name many times in my head for leaving all this responsibility
on me. It has been exciting to see other friends go through pregnancies and
have babies and many about to welcome babies this year but I do sometimes envy
that they have a happy, joyful, celebrated pregnancy and someone supporting
them by their side. When they are in the
hospital, their significant other will be there to hold their hand and endure
all the future sleepless nights and help change diapers. I just want a break to blog more (sorry I haven't been able to!), clip coupons and cook without someone always wanting to help or hang off me every time. For goodness sakes I dream about going to
Target alone, with a Starbucks in hand and my coupons for a few hours to just
walk around and mosey and take a few breaths to myself.
Yet I find on a hard day, my daughter who is sensitive to
any emotion, who sees if for some reason I look the slightest bit upset, asks
me “What’s wrong Mommy?” and offers me a big hug…she can put a smile back on
my face in a second. She lights me up all over again. She has the most
incredible personality. She is caring, thoughtful, funny, sarcastic, stubborn, playful,
intelligent, silly, SASSY, divalicious, full of the most contagious laughter and most importantly
SO SO SO LOVING. For someone with such
tiny arms, she gives the biggest, warmest hugs you could ask for. She gives the
best kisses you could ever want…and the way she says “I love you” just melts
your heart into a million pieces and brings tears to your eyes. When you wake
up from a long night of sharing your bed with a toddler and they wake you up to
say, “Mommy, I missed you!” and give you a big hug…you can’t help but start the
day with a smile no matter how tired you are.
Aubrey is two. And I know that the time is only going to go
by faster and I am going to the hottest mess you can imagine dropping her off
at daycare when that comes this year. But I am so blessed everyday to be her
Mommy. I am so grateful for being able
to spend 24/7 with her these past few years because I realize I’ll be missing it
someday. Someday she won’t want to cuddle. Someday she won’t let me kiss her
goodbye in front of her friends or let me hold her hand to cross the street. I
don’t want to think about that “some day” now but all of us who have children
know that it is inevitable. I look
forward to this next year and seeing how much she grows and changes. I’m
excited for the growing and changing we will do together as well as embark on a
new journey back to living in Los Angeles. I know it won’t always be easy, but
as long as I have my little princess with me, as long as I have her hugs and
kissed I know everything will be alright.
At the end of Aubrey’s birthday, before she got in bed, I
gave her a big hug and told her, “Happy Birthday baby, I love you.” She took my
face in her hands and said, “I love you so much” and proceeded to give me the
biggest hug and my eyes welled with tears. It was the greatest way to end such
a fun, amazing day with her. That’s when it really hit me...the days are long
but the years fly by. Cherish them, cherish every single day because before we
know it, our little ones will spreading their wings and flying off on their own
to create their own life journey. I hope you all have days and years full of
laughter, hugs and tantrums because without the tantrums it wouldn’t make the
other days seem so much better! <3
Happy Birthday Aubrey Rose! Mommy loves you!
Highlights from her 2nd Birthday:
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| It was a great birthday! She was so tired! |
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