Happy Mother's Day

The kids (with a little help from Dave who had a little help from me ) got me this sling from Boho Baby Slings for Mother's Day. After this picture was taken, Alexa snuggled right in and helped me make my breakfast. I use my various slings and baby carriers all the time when I am out running errands by myself with the kids. I can carry Alexa and can still hold Caleb's hand and pick him up to pop him in the cart. I look forward to trying this one out this week.

And in honor of my third Mother's Day as a mom, here are some random reflections on motherhood.

- I've always loved babies - anyone's baby, so I knew I would have no trouble loving my own babies. But I found that I also love red-headed almost three year old little boys, especially when they say, "Good night, Mommy. Love you. I want a kiss."

- Speaking of red-headed little boys, I never imagined that I would have a red-headed child, especially after marrying Dave.

- When I was pregnant with Alexa, I thought I wanted another boy. However, I love being mom to a girl as especially evidenced by all the dresses and hair bows she has.

- I handle sleep deprivation much better than I ever thought I would. I could not have imagined that my first child would not regularly sleep through the night until 14 months and that my second child would follow in his footsteps. However, I really do fine with interrupted sleep and rarely even take a nap unless Alexa had an especially bad night. What's really weird, though, is that I have slept through Dave getting up to deal with Caleb during the night twice recently, even though I always wake up for Alexa.

- Once upon a time, I thought I wanted like 8 kids or something like that. Now I think 4 sounds like a nice number, but we'll have to see what happens.

- I am incredibly blessed to (so far) have an easy time getting pregnant, healthy, easy pregnancies, and rather large but very healthy babies. I know this is not the case for everyone.

- After all the babysitting that I did in middle school and high school, I'm kinda nervous about leaving my kids with a teenage babysitter.

- Most days, having 2 kids is easier than I thought it would be. And I love listening to Alexa cackle at Caleb like he is the funniest thing in the world and Caleb beg to hold his sister. I love watching their faces light up when they see each other in the mornings. It's like they missed each other all night long.

- I've loved watching our parents become grandparents and our siblings become aunts/uncles. I love that they love my kids just because they are mine.

- I have a much easier time teaching and disciplining a whole room full of fifth graders than disciplining a stubborn, rebellious, non-verbal two year old. But the Lord grants much patience, Caleb is more verbal now, and his behavior is much better now that he can express himself more.

- I am thankful to God for the two precious children He has given me.