Dear Sister

Tami,

I wrote you a sappy letter on the eve of your wedding so it only seems fitting I write one on the eve of your next great adventure. I promise to add some humor because when I talk about parenting I try to be brutally honest and my parenting skills are totally sketchy. Here goes....

Soon you will get a new title. 

Soon you will be daughter, sister, aunt, wife and mom.

MOM!!

That's a title you waited a long time for. A title you fought for. A title you will shine at.

Being a mom is the greatest most stressful thing ever. You have this tiny little human and it's your job to raise it and teach it and nurture it all while it is actively making your eye twitch. ALL THE EYE TWITCHING! And then this sweet little child looks at your face and smiles and NOTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD MATTERS! Nothing. Baby smiles cure almost any bad mood. Almost.

Being a mom means sleepless nights, cold coffee and mystery stains. You prefer cold coffee and you own a bunch of scarves so you're ahead of the game!

Being a mom means there will always be someone who needs you unconditionally, who loves you even when your patience is thin and your words are harsh.

When you are a first time momma, all the people will tell you all the things. Take it all in but listen to your gut - not the masses. Your Momma Heart will tell you what your baby needs so trust it.

People will say "cherish all these moments, you will miss them one day." This mumbo-jumbo is ridiculous. I wouldn't go back to a teething baby if offered all the money in the world. Nope. It is perfectly okay to not cherish every moment of motherhood. Period. 

It is also okay to fail. When things are hard and you are tired, you will scream and cry and question everything. This will make you angry with yourself and you will think you are a bad mom. But bad moments don't make you a bad mom. Call me, I'll tell you all about my bad moments. 

You will get to spend the next few years sharing firsts with your little one and that is hands down THE BEST thing about being a parent. 

First smile.

First giggle.

First time seeing Christmas lights.

First time holding your hand.

First tooth.

First steps.

Everything will be a first and watching your child experience things for the first time ever is the coolest thing. It's just so magical. 

For the first few weeks, all you will do is snuggle a sweet baby. Sleepy snuggles on the couch are fabulous.

Take lots of pictures because they grow so fast! And while there are moments I wouldn't go back to - there are a ton I would. So document everything to visit again one day. Record all the baby giggles and gibberish and the milestones that matter to you. 

I know you are going to be a fantastic mom because you have been an amazing Aunt. The way you are with Alice is so precious and watching you two these past 8 years has been a beautiful privilege. She is SO EXCITED to meet Sawyer. And we are so thankful he wasn't born on her birthday. For reals, there is only so much she is willing to forgive you for, Poopie. I mean, seriously. ;)  

I am so stinking excited for you. My heart just cannot take how ready I am to meet Baby Bean.

I know this has been a super stressful and disappointing time to have a baby but my hope is that the time you and Jon have together in the hospital, just the three of you, will make up for all the moments you didn't have. You are going in as a couple but will come out a family of three! Eeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!! 

I look forward to watching you become the Momma you've longed to be. I look forward to talking to you about mom things. I look forward to returning on the loud gifts your husband has given Alice. I have an entire Amazon list saved so prepare your heart. ;)

Congrats on your new adventure and all the sweet moments coming your way. 

Love you,

T.

A Very Merry Christmas

Every Christmas since Alice has been around has been just so magical. This year was no exception. This is the first Christmas that Alice really understood what was going on. She was excited to decorate, she loved the Christmas lights, and the anticipation of presents was palpable. (We spent so many days going to different houses for presents that now every time we are set to go somewhere, she asks, "I get presents?!" Not this time, kid.)

Christmas Eve, we were at mom's for the candlelight service and our family gift exchange. It was a ball, as usual! While at Nana's, she received a cash register and a little wooden make-up set that she ADORES. Now we are either being made over or getting a "keck up". 

We usually spend the night at mom's, however, this year, we came home and brought Aunt Tami and Uncle Travis with us. (My mom works Christmas day - babies don't know it's a holiday.) We got up, found what Santa brought, ate breakfast and opened presents. It was lovely. This was also the first year that Alice showed any interest in opening presents and every present, she reacted with, "oh wow!! I wub it!!" and hugged it to her. So precious.

Santa brought her lots of Play Doh, panties (her reaction was priceless), a turtle toothbrush holder, a Frozen microphone, a pink book, and Dada made her a lap desk.

Everything but the panties were her most "paborite EVER!" 

Christmas day, we headed up to Huntsville for Christmas with Papa and Mawmaw. She gave everyone a make-over with her new play make up set and we talked to Uncle David's goats.

We had a fantastic Christmas with the ones we love. We hope you did too.

Until next time.....

The Flower Girl

Aunt Tami is getting MARRIED!!! 

And she wants Alice to be her flower girl. 

I'm a party pooper and I'm not a big fan of young kids in weddings. I think they're an unpredictable distraction. However, I do believe that what a bride wants - she gets. So Alice will be the flower girl. 

We have a little over a year to practice. Thanks goodness. A few weeks ago, in an effort to find a new game, I took apart a fake flower, shoved them in a basket and had Alice walk down the hall. 'Flower Girl' is her new favorite game. She still can't say 'f' so it's 'power girl' to her. 

She thinks it's way too much fun. Our first attempt went well. She would smile and drop some and smile and drop some. We tried a few more times and things went south when she started to try to eat the petals. She usually gives up halfway down the hall and starts spinning and dancing. 

See - an unpredictable distraction. 

Aunt Tami came in last week and got to see her demonstrate her flower girl skills. Here's the video.

My favorite part - "Get out dere, powers!!" Yep.

Tami thinks it's wonderful and thinks it will be totally precious if she does this on the big day. I, on the other hand, will be the mortified matron of honor sweating bullets at the end of the aisle. 

Tami keeps saying, "she'll be 4!" Yeah, that just means she'll have more words and an even better commitment to her own will. I'm not making any promises. 

Until next time....

Monkeys, 'Mingos, and a Kitty

Before we decided to send Alice back to school, I mentioned to her uncle that we should take her to the Zoo before he headed to Spain. (He is currently in Spain for an Architecture class and was only home for a few days between the end of the semester and him leaving and I wanted them to have some time with her before he left.) I thought it might be less crowded with schools not being out yet and the weather wouldn't be too hot. So we picked a Thursday and invited the aunt too.

Only we sent her back to school. But it's okay, we just went after school! She wouldn't last an entire day there so a few hours would be perfect. There was no rain in the forecast for the day so of course, a storm blew in. Whatever. We were determined! She wanted to see the MONKEYS!!! 

Mom called when we were on the way in and asked if we were still planning on going. She could hear Alice in the backseat chanting, "monkeys, monkeys, monkeys!" and I said, "yes - the child wants monkeys."

We drive through scary skies and make it to the zoo in a light sprinkle. And while it rained heavy on us twice, we took shelter until it stopped and it was fine! The park was practically empty and the animals were entertaining. 

We stopped at the Red Panda first. Alice wasn't impressed. Only a monkey will do. We also stopped to talk to the Meerkats. They're so cute and just watching us. And then a bumblebee landed in their habitat and Meerkats came out of the ground and POUNCED on it. Yeesh.

We saw Elephants and Rhinos and Giraffes and so much more! And every time we did - she asked where the monkeys were. 

Double yeesh.

We finally found the primates. She waved to every one. Our zoo has done a fantastic job of creating an environment that's very wild. It doesn't look like animals in a cage. It doesn't feel like the animals are uncomfortable. And it's also very easy to get lost. They give you a map but thanks to JK Rowling, I always expect to see our bubble letting us know where we are at all times. I mean, seriously. 

We spent lots of time at the tiger habitat. Alice kept saying, 'here, kitty kitty!" And he was extremely willing to stop for a photo.

Uncle Travis and Alice got to visit the zoo last year around the same time. I took a picture then and I took another one this trip. I think it'll be a new yearly tradition. 

We saw Zebras and Flamingos and Triumph, the Bald Eagle and a really ugly turkey. The zoo is also full of bunny rabbits and chickens. We skipped the bug house. Nope. And the reptile house. Double nope. 

It was a great day. She talked about monkeys and mingos (flamingos) and elephants all night and first thing the next day. And that makes the rain totally worth it. She won't remember the rain or the having to wait out the storm. All she remembers is talking to the lion for a little bit longer and getting to spend time with the people she loves. And that's the point. 

Until next time....

And just like that....she's 2

So....we attempted a Sheep picture for month 24 (that's 2 years, folks!). They ALL look like this.....

Yep. This year might be a little exhausting.

Today, we celebrated. We decided to keep things very small. We had dinner and cupcakes and some family. And it was perfect. We splashed in the pool. We LAUGHED. We played. We opened presents. We ate cupcakes.

And we loved on a little girl who brings us so much joy. A little girl who lights up a room with her little grin. A little girl who waves bye bye when she leaves a room. A little girl who LOVES animals and marshmallows and books and colors.

She had our complete attention for the entire day. And that's what it should be about.

Two was a little bittersweet. One was exciting! It's the FIRST! But two means she's growing! And while I am SO proud of that, I miss the tiny little thing we brought home. However, I am SO excited to see what this next year holds for our girl. And it's an honor to call her ours.

Can you believe she's 2?! Yeesh.

Until next time....

All Good Things

Good news, the computer arrived home today! It has a brand new screen and seems to be doing better. 

Now for the fun.

Aunt Tami came in this past weekend.

Yep. All the best stories start this way.

We were set to attend a wedding on Saturday night so Friday night while my Beloved was working and the baby was napping, Tami asked me to spray tan her. She'd been out the weekend before and had some very uneven tan lines. So she gets in her bathing suit and we head to the tub. 

I spray her and she says it's fine, all she needs is a magic eraser for her feet and I start dinner.

A few minutes later she comes running in to the kitchen saying "all good things, all good things! BUT I might have turned your tub green. Apparently your tub is real and not plastic so now it's green! I can't scrub it because it'll wash my tan off!"

This child. 

So I leave my onions to go scrub the bathtub. 

She had been at the house all of 2 hours. That's it. It only takes Tami 2 hours to shake a house up. 

I walk in to the bathroom and it looks like we've spray painted the tub green. Green is EVERYWHERE. She says "maybe Daniel won't notice." Yeah, that's doubtful. 

As I'm scrubbing the bathtub with her bouncing over my shoulder looking for other green spots on the toilet and such to clean, she says "well, maybe it's good - when was the last time you cleaned the tub?" I'm pretty sure my response was less than nice. It's a miracle we didn't wake the baby. 

I get the tub scrubbed and the green is ALMOST gone so I go back to cooking dinner. When Alice finally gets up, there's a meltdown because we won't allow her to tear up the floor and carry it around with her. She wouldn't stop crying so I told Tami to pick her up. 

Here, Tami is telling her "don't cry tears! You'll ruin my tan!" 

Oh my.

Aunt Tami is a HOT. MESS! 

The next morning, Tami got up to get her more coffee so Alice seized the opportunity to reclaim her spot on the couch. 

Aunt Tami won only because she has upper body strength and can lift babies. Although, Alice quickly climbed in her lap and proceeded to jab her bony baby elbow in to her chest until in defeat, she jumped up and said "fine! Take the spot!"

I'm pretty sure Alice smiled.

Until next time...