Mother's Day Reflections

So Elizabeth decided to usher in Mother's Day last night by waking at midnight and not heading back to a deep sleep until about 4 a.m. I think it had something to do with the frozen yogurt I let her eat last night...but who knows.

So I sleepwalked through most of the day but it still find sort of surreal and odd. I suppose when you go through 47 years not being a mom on mother's day it isn't too surprising that everytime someone said "Happy Mother's Day" to me I looked behind me to see who they might be talking to.

But a mama I am. And to the most beautiful little pumpkin I could imagine. And I am so touched by the cards and flowers and phone calls from friends and family who wanted to say "Happy 1st Mother's Day". I certainly didn't expect it and it was really quite sweet.

I hope everyone had a wonderful mother's day. And if your mom is still here I hope you gave her a great big hug today. And if like me, you mom is no longer with you physically--I hope that your memories of your time with her give you more joy than sadness on this day. For me still, Mother's Day can be a little rough. It makes me think about the movie Shadowlands, when Anthony Hopkins talks about how..."the sadness today comes as a result of the happiness you had yesterday."

How true.

Cute Hair

So of the many benefits of having a mother's helper around --new hairstyles seem to be high on my list. Sandra managed to give Elizabeth that adorable ponytail on the top of the head look that I love so much. Doesn't she look adorable?





Another benefit to having Sandy around is that she does a spectacular job of trimming Elizabeth's fingernails and toenails--something I have failed miserably at. I am so darn afraid of cutting her skin that I barely get any of her nail when I am trying to trim them. Those of you who have been injured while playing with Elizabeth will appreciate this new feature.




Here is Elizabeth looking quite the toddler watching one of her favorite shows. She is learning "sit don't stand" when it comes the the couch. But you still need to be eagle eyes around her--as you might imagine, once you take your eyes off of her--there she goes flying head first off the couch.



She is picking up some style tips here...oh, and don't ever leave your sunglasses lying around if you want to see them again. Elizabeth's theory on everything that exists is this--"if I can get my hands on it--it's mine!"



Vogue--here is your next cover girl!

If the Phone Doesn't Ring...

I keep thinking of that Jimmy Buffet song--the lyrics basically go something like this "if your phone doesn't ring, it's me". I think he is talking about a girl he once knew and about how even though he doesn't call her, he thinks of her all the time.



That is pretty much how I feel about my life outside of Elizabeth. Somehow Elizabeth seems to consume my every waking moment and often my sleeping time as well. Without going into detail-- suffice to say that the last six months have been a little like "baby basic training" for me and Marty. And you could say Elizabeth is our darling little drill Sargeant to whom we have to answer.

So....all this to say that if I haven't called you, emailed you or visited you--it is not because I don't think of you a lot. It is not because I don't want to spend time with you. Oh no--I assure you it is not that.

The good news is that we have gotten a little bit of help with a nanny/mother's helper who will be here 2 days a week until mid-June. After that we have Elizabeth scheduled to attend preschool for a few hours a day during the week. I think she is going to love it because she is so darn social. She loves everyone--with one exception being the housecleaners who come once every two weeks. They are the sweetest couple you could meet and yet every time she sees them she screams for dear life. She doesn't even want to be in the house when they are here. It is really odd since she runs up to some up the scariest looking people on the street and asks them to hold her--and yet with sweet Mr. & Mrs. T she is petrified. Am I going to have to worry about her judgment of people? Oh man, wait until she starts dating.

On a brighter note, now that Sandra is here and certainly in June when Elizabeth heads to preschool, I hope to be able to resume at least a smidgen of a social life. Well, at least maybe a few phone calls a week.

A few photos

Here she is clowning around with one of her books. Like her dada she has about 5,000 books. She does not yet, however, have any bookcases--we are working on it. I am however trying to keep furniture in her room to a minimum at the moment since most furniture seems to double as just another place for her to hit her head. In the meantime I found some nice little linen buckets for her to keep her books in for now.



This photo shows her "sad" little face. If you are around her enough you start to learn her "crocodile" sad face and her true sad face. This is a crocodile sad face. She is also developing a little habit of crying and whining to get what she wants sometimes. (yes, even she does this) When I catch her doing it, I imitate her and start whining and pointing or crying just as she does and then she bursts into laughter. I get the sense that she really knows I am imitating her and finds it hilarious. She has a great sense of humor--which I am soooo happy about.



She looks pretty darn good in yellow. I am slowly moving away from the "pink on pink" ensembles.



Here she is in her pretty white shirt. I hear that in a few months she may be voicing an opinion in terms of what she wears. I can imagine that may make dressing her a tad more difficult.

Happy Sunday

Flying High

Here is Elizabeth having a little fun...

Panda Sweater

Here are a few photos of Elizabeth in her lovely Panda Sweater. I love this first photo where she looks a tad "posed".

And of course I love the one of her with her mama. How could I not?