Three Special Memories

As parents, I think we can all attest that there are a million little memories with our kids that make us smile. The every day, seemingly average moments happen in a swift and all of a sudden we’re left looking through our camera rolls and thinking, “Oh my gosh was that really a few months ago?! It feels like yesterday.” I can only imagine how I’ll feel in a few years time. Cue the waterworks.

In fact, when I sat down to think about what three memories to share, I had a hard time. It wasn’t for lack of memories, of course. It was because I have so many great little moments with both of my kids that picking a few was nearly impossible.

Most of my memories as a parent are comprised of everyday things that make me smile, but they’re not really a story, per say. They just sort of happen.

Things like Gracie climbing on my back and proclaiming that she wants a “Horsy ride”, or Josephine looking up at the trees while on a walk, wide-eyed and in awe of the colors. How when Grace dances she has a hysterical move that’s a combination of “The sprinkler” and a person getting electrocuted. Or, how Josephine is the biggest cuddler, and when I hold her, she’ll almost always wiggle her body so her head is perfectly nuzzled in my neck. I could sit here for days reflecting upon stream of thought moments like this; they all make my heart swell with love, pride and a little bit of sadness because it’s all happening so fast.

But pausing to reflect is the best exercise in appreciating the little moments, and so I’ve got to thank this weekly motherhood series with Kelly as its continuously allowed me to write down and vocalize thoughts I wouldn’t normally have done. (Thank you again Kelly for being the BEST friend and doing this weekly column with me! Seriously, I’m so thankful for this and for our friendship.)

After racking my brain, below are three special memories that I am excited to share with you. They’re all fairly simple, but they stand out as moments in time I’ll never forget. Be sure to swing by Kelly’s post to read her moments as well!A weekend day where my friend Jess was in town and we had a picnic overlooking the Chicago skyline. This was taken a few weeks after Gracie said “Hi”, and is one of my favorite pictures of us together. 

Memory #1: Gracie’s first word

We were in up north Michigan, celebrating my friend Jeff’s 30th birthday last year. Our friends rented a house together for the weekend, and Doug, Grace and I were all naturally sharing a room. Gracie was 10 months, and particularly while traveling, would wake up crazy early some mornings. 5 am rolled around, and sure enough, our little girl started babbling in her Pack and Play.

I picked her up, and brought her into bed with us to cuddle for a bit. Grace was laying on my chest, belly to belly, and I was rubbing her back while humming to her, trying to lull her back to sleep. Doug was facing us, sleeping, and Grace was gazing at him. As he opened his eyes to see how we were doing, Gracie let out the sweetest, clearest, most pronounced, “Hi”.

Still can’t get over this photo, taken when Josephine was just 3 weeks! I have a feeling Grace and Josephine will cherish this one day down the road. Besties for life, those lucky girls. 

Memory #2: The Girls Meeting For The First Time

My mom and step dad were watching Grace while Doug and I were in the hospital delivering Josephine. Josephine was born at 10:48am, and by 3 pm they were there with Grace to have her meet her new sister. We were all pretty nervous about how Grace would react; we of course tried to prep her as much as possible, but we were anxious to see how it would go. Grace walked into the room, and Josephine was purposefully in her little bassinet beside my bed. (I’d read that when siblings meet, it’s best if the parents aren’t holding the new baby to avoid feelings of jealousy at first.)

We introduced the two of them, full of anticipation. Grace was looking at Jo with the most excited look on her face, and then proclaimed that she wanted a “Baby kiss”. She then leaned in for a big smooch on her forehead, and stayed there for about 10 seconds, giving Jo the biggest kiss I’d ever seen her give.

Josephine and I having our moment, and me capturing one of those first gummy smiles. 

Memory #3: When Josephine Started Smiling

She was 6 weeks old and there were a few smiles here and there, but nothing consistent. (Side note: How is she already 10 weeks?! It’s blowing my mind.) We went to the lake to enjoy the day, and were wrapping up our picnic as we prepared to go home.

Grace ran to play with some kids that were nearby, so Doug went after her, and I stayed with Josephine who was wrapped in her car seat as we packed things up. She locked eyes with me, and started smiling the biggest smiles. I was coo’ing at her and smiling back, of course, and she just kept going. She and I ended up smiling back and forth at one another for minutes, just us two, having the perfect moment with her first real smiles. I was even lucky enough to catch one on camera – pictured above!

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It’s little moments like these that make parenthood so special, don’t you think?

Be sure to swing by Kelly’s blog to check out her memories. And, if you’re open for sharing, I’d love to hear what a special memory is for you in the comments!