Mother's Day 2016

My first Mother's Day was perfect...a very laid back, relaxing day spent with my little family. 

Mother's Day 2016

We went to church at our usual time {the 8:45 am service}...where our little wiggle worm managed to entertain all of the people surrounding us.  H is actually pretty quiet during the church service, but over the past few weeks the kid has been squirming between Ryan and me like it's his job. Yesterday we figured out that feeding him Cheerios will pacify him for a little while...but once he gets bored with that, then he's right back to flirting with the little girl sitting behind us!  

After church we brunched, and this little guy ate ALL the fruit in sight...

We had planned to spend part of the afternoon outside, but every time we thought about venturing out, it started to rain. What does a momma do when she's already buckled the babe {who LOVES to go for walks} in the stroller only to realize it's raining outside? Well...walk in laps around the living room and through the kitchen, of course! 

Our non-napping little man actually slept for an hour and a half...maybe even two hours, I lost track of time. It was long enough that I was continuously checking on him though because we're definitely not used to extended periods of sleep during the daylight hours around our house. I caught a short little nap myself {fabulous Mother's Day gift!}, and Ryan and I were actually able to get some stuff done around the house that is impossible to do while H is getting into everything awake.

Although we weren't able to celebrate with our moms in person this year, H was able to FaceTime with both Grammy and Grandma Jo. He's getting better at the whole FaceTime thing...at least we didn't hang up on either one of them! {He likes to try to grab their faces through the phone, and it oftentimes ends up with a disconnected call.}

All in all, it was an incredible Sunday being pampered by my boys with gifts and, more importantly, all the love in the world! They sure know how to make a momma feel loved and appreciated. As I posted yesterday on Instagram, I thank the Lord every single day that I get to be this little man's momma...and that I get to travel this parenting journey with Ryan. Mother's Day 2016: it was a perfect day!  

Oh, and I capped the day off with this teeny, tiny piece of cherry pie...

Mother's Day 2016

Motherhood: My Greatest Gift

Mother's Day.  

It's always been a special day for me because I'm very close to my mom and love any excuse to celebrate her...and in recent years it's been even more meaningful as I've been able to celebrate my mother-in-law as well {I truly am one of those lucky girls who gained a fabulous mother-in-law when I got married}. This year brings about all types of new emotions as it marks my first Mother’s Day with a child of my own.

As Mother’s Day approaches I’ve been reflecting on the past 8.5 months, and I’ve come to the conclusion there really aren’t words to relay how overwhelmingly awesome this whole “being a mom” gig is for me. Motherhood is the greatest gift I've ever been given. Nothing in my life thus far has been more astounding…no greater challenge…no love so profound. 

To keep with the "Five on Friday" theme, here are a few of the emotions I experience each and every day…

Unconditional Love: there is absolutely nothing in this world that could hinder the love that I feel for our baby boy. That saying about children being equivalent to your heart walking around outside your body...no statement has ever been truer {even though my external heart isn't walking just yet!}. The love that I feel for that tiny little babe is so intense that sometimes it almost hurts. It brings tears to my eyes…happy tears, tears of joy, thankful tears. I now know exactly what my mom meant when she continuously told me, “nothing compares to a mother’s love.”

Amazement: sometimes I look at him and still find myself in shock and amazement that he's here and that he's ours. He's so perfect and innocent. His growth and development...the way he teaches himself how do to things {roll over, sit up, crawl}...it all just amazes me.

Fear: it absolutely terrifies me that this little boy's entire life is in our hands. We are fully responsible for teaching him right from wrong, good from bad...molding him into the man he will become. Will we do it right? Where is the instruction manual for raising a respectful, hard-working, loving gentleman? Perhaps I'll ask my mother-in-law for that manual because I'd be more-than-proud for my son to grow up to treat his wife and family {and everyone around him} like his daddy treats us.

Gratitude: I thank the Lord every single day for blessing us with the privilege of being Huston's parents. We definitely do not take for granted that we have a healthy, happy baby boy. 

Mom-Guilt: Although it's gotten a little bit easier over the past couple of months, a part of my heart still hurts every single weekday when I leave the house in the morning to go to work. Our little guy is in great hands at home with Maria {we're beyond grateful for our incredible nanny!}, but I want to be the one who is there with him day-in and day-out. A part of me knows that being a full-time working mom makes me a better, more-engaged mom during the time that I do have with him...but that still doesn't take away those feelings of wishing I could be at home with him all the time. I don't let these feelings overwhelm me too often because I'm proud of the "professional woman/working mom" example I'm setting for our son. And like I said when I came back to work, I truly believe that spending QUALITY time with him over quantity of time makes me a better momma.

To my sweet Baby Huston: I wouldn't be celebrating this holiday if it weren't for you. Thank you for making me a momma. I love you beyond measure! 

Happy Mother's Day!