My First Mother’s Day as a Mommy

The week leading up to my first Mother’s day was by far our busiest and most stressful week scheduling wise since our daughter was born.  My husband had his doctoral commencement, I had full day training/meetings that kept me late at the office two days of the week, and I was a bridesmaid in a wedding (think rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, salon all day Saturday, and wedding festivities that night).  I had a diagram for each day about how many breast milk bottles to have in the fridge each morning before work, how many bags to pack for pumping, and packing lists for her diaper bag for each day.  IT WAS EXHAUSTING! It is the kind of pace we had seen many times pre-kids but man it’s a million times more tiring with a kiddo in tow for all those big activities.  Or even the events she didn’t go to I had to put a lot of time and attention in ensuring everything was prepared for her caregiver for that time frame.  So by the time Sunday, my first Mother’s Day, came along all I wanted was a low key day filled with coffee and baby snuggles.  Thankfully our daughter didn’t mind that plan at all.  Getting her out of her crib each morning is my absolute favorite and it breaks my heart I only get to do that a couple times a week right now.  She is all smiles and does the absolute cutest stretches when we unbundle her from her swaddle/sleep sack.  I sing a good morning song to her each time I get her up it’s an older song by Gene Kelly and it is such a cheery start to our day.  Kyle and our daughter gave me a beautiful sterling silver and agate necklace that our daughter loves to death grip and stare at.  And my husband wrote me a beautiful poem about our family.  It brought tears to my eyes and will be the centerpiece of a new gallery wall I’m planning along our stairs.  Then Kyle was sweet and made sure I had coffee and a delicious breakfast, I’m talking steak and eggs delicious!  We sat on the porch and played with her in her bouncer, read her stories, and sang to her.  It was perfect!  We spent the afternoon having an early dinner at my parents.  The food and the company were delightful.  I could not have asked for a better first Mother’s day as a mom.  We wore matching outfits which was so fun (for me at least).  I can’t believe that by next year she’ll be walking and saying words and short phrases.  The days are long but the years are short seems to take on a new reality when it comes to watching your children grow.  It’s magical, exciting, and heart wrenching thinking how quickly they grow up.  So for now I’ll be snuggling my sweet little baby as much as I can until she gets bigger and busier because as the saying goes babies don’t keep!

Mother’s Day Photo Shoot (one week before Mother’s Day)

Having a kid rewires your brain in a million ways but one of the most profound is the new depth of love and appreciation you feel for your parents.  It suddenly becomes evident how much they loved you, how much they sacrificed for you, and how deeply invested they are in you.  It gives new meaning to every time they talked you through a hard life lesson, every time they helped you with a sticky situation, and how they weighed every decision when you were too young to communicate.  They did so much right and now I just wish I could remember exactly how they did all of it.  How did they help me foster such a strong love of books?  How did they know which sports to let me try and when to push me to focus most on my favorite one?  How did they help me build such a strong sense of commitment and follow through?  I remember bits and pieces that we’ll use with our daughter but raising kids is so wonderfully and terrifying complex that I’m amazed at how well they navigated so many things. 

All that is why I wanted to do something really special for our moms this Mother’s Day.  A friend of mine from college who is an incredibly talented photographer was in town and I knew a Mother’s Day photo shoot with the perfect idea.  I wanted them to have a beautiful keepsake of these first few months with their granddaughter.  I wanted our daughter to be able to see that from the very start of her life she was loved beyond measure and surrounded by incredible role models.  It takes a tribe to raise a child and man our daughter hit the jackpot when it comes to her grandma and nanas.  Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot, thanks Sachel of Sachel Samone Photography for capturing these precious moments and beautiful women!

Dr. Dad (Kyle’s Doctoral Commencement)

On Tuesday May 9th we had Kyle’s graduation ceremony at KSU! It was really special to both of us that our daughter was able to be there although we know she won’t remember it of course. They called his name and announced his study. Then he walked on stage and they placed his doctoral hood on his robes. He beamed with pride. The thing about Kyle is that he knew very early on what his calling was. At age 15 he was certain that he wanted to be a teacher and to earn his doctorate one day. Throughout his bachelor’s degree, career, master’s degree, and now doctoral degree his passion and gifts in education (both as a teacher and as a student) were clear and confirmed by his peers, teachers, and coworkers. In the 10 years he has been teaching he has shared many emails and stories from students about how he helped them discover their gifts/passion and how he helped change their lives. Our daughter is a very lucky little girl to have him as an example of what is possible when you combine your passion and your gifts!