More Joy!: May 2011

Dear Rose,
16 months old. Certifiable toddler. In fact, you began the leap to the Toddler Room this week. You are getting bigger, stronger, faster, and opinionated. This world makes you laugh out loud and you have discovered that you can make other people laugh too. You are smart, Rose, so smart. You know when someone is talking about you (you become quiet and lower your head a little bit, so you can listen to what they say about you). You love books, too. Your words are slowly coming up. You say Dada quite a bit, and you know what the doggies say: “Woof!” You can mimic us: the other night when we were outside in the front yard, you were digging your little hands into the large planters and I said, “What are you feeling, Rose? Are you feeling the dirt?” You said, “Dirt!” and continued to dig.

We celebrated Mother’s Day earlier this month. It was a wonderful, gorgeous day and I had a lot of fun celebrating being your Mama. You and Daddy took me to Haute Dish for a very nice brunch. You were content to lounge in my arms in the booth during the meal, and then wanted Daddy to hold you, so we took turns. Towards the end of the meal, you turned into Super-Crank! and so we quickly finished up and headed out. You gave me some beautiful diamond stud earrings (Daddy did a good job picking them out) and I enjoy wearing them and thinking of you.

Rose, I am so grateful to be your Mama. Since the day you were born, my life has taken on new meaning. During my pregnancy, I knew that life was about to change, but I just did not know how or what it would look like or even the magnitude of what we were about to get into with you. The last 16 months have been incredible: each day is a new adventure and each day is filled with joy and challenges. Even on those long nights where you won’t go back to sleep, I am still oh-so-grateful to be a mom, YOUR mama, and I know that these days are way too short to complain.

Mother’s Day also made me grateful for all of the wonderful women that are in our lives, Rose. I hope that you are able to meet some of them someday. I have been so lucky to have had so many women who have shown me, whether they knew it or not, how to be a Mama. Moms are special people, and so are the women who are Grandmas, Aunts, Sisters, and Friends. I did not realize how much they taught me, until you arrived. You had to be here, so I could be your mama. And it's the best thing that's ever happened to me.