Happy Mother's Day!

Today is my 3rd Mother's Day... 4th if you count the one when Miss Maison was still the bun in my oven... It is hard for me to believe I have been a mommy this long. Time has truly flown by. Who ever knew it was possible to fall more in love each day?!?!? Maison has brought a joy to my life unlike any other and I feel truly blessed to have been chosen as the mother to such a sweet, loving, intelligent and beautiful child. Being her mom is the most important "job" I will ever have. Each day when I look at her sweet face, I realize what my mom meant all those times she told me I would not understand her love for me until I had a child of my own. I get it now, Mom. Thanks for being such an awesome mom to me for the past 32 years. My hope is that I can be at least half the mother to Maison that you have been to me and Michelle.

Mother's Day holds a new meaning for me now. Because being a mom is not just about being a mom. As we get older and things in life change, being a mom is also being a daughter... I have watched my mom and especially Trey's mom lately go into a role reversal of sorts with their own mother's. I have always thought of my mom as my nurturer, my caregiver and as I grew older, my friend. Every day, I watch my mother-in-law nurture and care for her mother and I realize that her role as a daughter has changed tremendously over the last few months. I have such a tremendous amount of respect for the patient and loving manner in which she tends to Maw Maw each day. I have learned a lot about being a daughter from her...

To all my mom friends out there... Thank you! Each of you teach me something or challenge me in some way to not just be a better mom, but a better friend, daughter and wife... I wish you a happy day today and send out lots of love.

And the biggest thanks goes to my sweet angel... Thank you my little doodlebug for those sloppy wet kisses, making me take time out to chase the butterflies and sharing your sweet bedtime prayers... each and every day you show me what life is all about. I love you forever!

Happy Birthday, Bella!

Today is my mom's birthday. So...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BELLA!!!!
We love you!

'Do by Daddy

Last night after I went jogging, I got a shower and overheard this conversation going on in the bathroom:
Maison: Daddy, I want a ponytail.
Trey: OK. I can do that.
A couple of very quiet minutes pass.
Maison: Daddy, I so pretty!
Trey: I should quit my job and be a hairdresser.
This is what I saw when I got out of the shower...

Daily giggle...

Just got a text message from Maison's teacher, Paula.

"Ms janae asked what that smell was in the class and mae smiled real big and giggled then said ms anae i got gas"

I swear she is her father's child!

A visit to B'ham...

We made a quick trip to Birmingham over the weekend. One of my BFF's, Ashley, has a precious little addition to her perfect family. I was curious to see how Maison would react to an itty-bitty newborn. I was cuddled up with sweet Amelia and Maison climbed in my lap to inspect the little bundle that had her mommy so captivated. She looked at Amelia and looked up at me with wonder in her eyes. I said, "This is your new friend, Amelia." She leaned in and gave her a soft kiss and whispered, "I wuv you, Meal-ya." The picture below makes me want to get pregnant again...

Maison also got the chance to play with her buddy, Lawson, who is Amelia's proud big brother. If Aunt Ashely and Mommy have any say so in the matter, these two will be going to the senior prom together.

Mommy Brain

Thursday night has turned into our regular "go out to eat" night. Two weeks ago, on the way home from dinner, Maison said something that generated the response "That is SOOOO going on the blog tomorrow!" from me. I specifically remember Trey making fun of me for saying that it was "SOOOO going on the blog" and then something about being a computer nerd.

I just wish I could remember what it was she said that I SOOOO wanted to post. This is reason #17 I have added to the list of why I want a Crackberry...

Cinderella Dress

On a daily basis, Maison does things that show me how much she is growing up. Brushing her own teeth, putting on her own shoes, being able to reach things that were once too high up for her... She has also grown quite particular about her wardrobe. She always wants to wear a "Cinnnerella Dess"... Mommy is not a dress person. Therefore, when Mommy purchased a lot of Maison's summer clothes, Mommy tended to gravitate toward capri pants and shorts with cute little tops. Some mornings, I have to lift her out of bed, change her pull-up and dress her while she is still in a state of semi-consciousness. These semi-conscious mornings are a cake walk. I put on her shorts or capris and her shirt and we are out the door before she even has a chance to realize I took her pj's off. Some mornings, she is out of the bed and under my feet while I am still drying my hair. Wide awake mornings, like this one, have become quite challenging.

As I was filling her sippy cup with milk, she appeared out of her room. I looked at her in her cute little penguin pj's with her crazy bed head of hair and admired how precious she was. Then I said, "OK let's go get you dressed!" "I want a pretty Cinnnerella Dess Mommy!" Ugh! I am already running late because I had to bake a tomato pie for a potluck at work today and now we have to go through picking out clothes. I sit her up on the changing table and go open her closet. Pull out dress #1 and hold it up for her inspection. "Not dat one, Mommy!" "How about this one? Mommy likes this one!" "No, no, not dat one Mommy!" Count to ten. Take 2 deep breaths. Pull out Dress #3. Hold it up and look at her pleadingly to agree. Huge smile spreads across her face. "Dat one Mommy. It so pretty!" I hurry and put it on her, comb the bed head, put in the bow, get her shoes on before we go through the same scenario for those and lift her off the changing table and onto the floor. As I start to go out of the room, that little voice stops me. I turn around and my angel is standing there holding the skirt of her dress out like she is going to curtsy, spins around, looks at me says "I beautibull, Mommy!" With misty eyes, I replied, "Yes, baby, more beautibull than Cinnnerella..." I squatted down and when those little arms wrapped around my neck and she looked at me with that smile that said thank you for dressing me in a beautibull Cinnerella dress, all I could think was "Who cares if I am 15 minutes late today? This is what being a Mommy is all about..."