10 Month Love Letter

My sweet Hazel Grace,

At 10 months you are on the go and intensely curious. You started sitting, crawling and cruising around 7-8 months and continue to exercise your super baby strength on the regular. You can stand without holding on to anything and I'm pretty confident you'll walk before your first birthday. You're into everything and the other day Owen told me, "Mom, Hazel's playing in the outlet!" We've got some serious baby proofing to do around here. You got your first tooth right around 9 months and second right around 10, after acting as if you were teething for months. You love dancing, playing peek-a-boo and your little doll.

You have the best baby belly laugh and when you smile it takes over your whole face. Your hazel eyes twinkle and fill our home with so much joy. Your brothers adore you and are constantly in your face. Their new thing is that they both like to pick you up and walk you around the living room. It's certainly not my favorite activity but you don't seem to mind. You've started clapping and waving, much to the delight of our entire family. I love experiencing your milestones along side the boys, there is so much magic in watching you learn.

Somewhere between 6 and 9 months you figured out that nighttime is for sleeping. I can't recall exactly how or when it happened but you no longer get up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. You go to bed around 7 and sleep until around 7 in the morning, usually waking up once to nurse. There have a been a few nights recently where you've slept all the way through. It's a great routine for now and our family is feeling so much more rested because of it. You've started taking two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The predictably has brought a much needed routine back into our daily schedule.

Your hair is lightening up with the warmer weather and sticks straight up all of the time. You're holding strong in the 13% percentile for height and weight. You still love to eat solids and chomp down whatever I feed you. Salmon, chicken, cheese, salmon, broccoli, frozen peas, frozen grapes, lots of cheerios and packets of baby food are our current staples.

For some reason it feels difficult to articulate what a sweet little thing you are. There is a lot of chaos to our days but your smile and scrunch face calm the storm. My uterus aches knowing the baby chapter that has dominated my life for the past six years is coming to a close. I feel totally differently holding newborn babies knowing I'll never have another one of my own. All I've ever wanted is to be a mama and I've always imagined myself with a baby in my arms. You are the perfect end to such a sweet chapter of my life.

As bittersweet as it feels to have the time slip by so quickly, I vowed many years ago to fully embrace the present. I am enjoying what's left of the baby phase and eager for what is to come. I'm looking forward to watching you continue to grow and seeing who you become. You're my girl and I pray that you always know how deeply you are a loved.

xoxo,
Your Loving Mama

Brady's Blessing

Brady Mae was blessed on Mother's Day. In her sermon Pastor Barbara talked about Hanai, which means family by choice in Hawaiian culture. The Aeby's have been part of my Hanai since I was ten years old and being with them always feels like coming home.

It didn't take me long to discover that one of the most magical parts of motherhood is other mamas, especially this one. After being best friends for over 20 years Rachel called me one morning and about thirty seconds into the conversation I knew she was going to tell me she was pregnant, having just tested positive myself a day or two before. (I planned to tell her in person but she can't keep a secret for more than fifteen seconds so she called me as soon as she knew). It turned out we were due the exact same day. We've lived an hour apart since college so it was such a blessing to have Rachel fifteen minutes away while we went though pregnancy, childbirth and the first six months of our baby girls lives together. Of all the things I am thankful for, the bond that Rach and I share is at the top of the list. She loves my kids as if they're her own and her generous heart never ceases to inspire me.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms loving their babies with all they've got. I think we'd all agree that being a mom is the hardest thing we've ever done and the most sacred gift we've ever been given. 

Easter 2018

We hosted Easter at our house with both the Leitz/Rallo and Wilhelm/McLauglin clans. Coordinating plans with that many people came with a fair amount of frustration but everything eventually fell into place. When all was said and done it was a wonderful weekend and I loved having everybody together. 

Saturday we did an Easter Egg hunt at our neighborhood playground- the boys hunted with all their hearts and got their faces painted like dragons. My family arrived Saturday afternoon and we went to church Saturday evening. It was really nice having my mom and both of my sisters here, drinking wine and laughing late into the night. Sunday morning Ty's family and my grandparents came and we did an egg hunt here followed by an Easter brunch. Most of the Wilhelm/McLaughlins left early on and the Leitz/Rallos stated until late afternoon, so we got quality time with everyone. 

Growing up we always had fancy outfits for holidays- three girls with matching dresses, shoes and accessories. This was the first holiday where I got to dress Hazel up and I was surprised by how special it was. The boys are adorable and I love them in their little button downs but something about Hazel with her dress and bow brought me back to the Easters of my past and made my heart swell. 

I am incredibly thankful for the Easter story and the peace that Jesus brings to my life.