Cutest little couple

Mother's Day

As this past weekend was my first Mother's Day, it's fair to say I have been doing a fair bit of thinking about what it means to be a "Mother". So far all I can come up with is tired and overwhelmed! All kidding aside, I feel pretty darn lucky to be a Mommy to such a beautiful and confident little girl. Vivienne loves life more than anyone I have ever been around, literally. She NEVER gets tired of exploring and smiling so wide at people that they can't help but respond to her. It doesn't matter who it is. She tried to jump into the arms of the grocery store checker once because the woman was cooing at her.

When I was pregnant with Vivienne all I kept wishing and hoping was that she would always feel loved. Like really loved. Now that she is here, I see how that is something I never needed to worry about. She has more people than she could ever want loving her! It's my privilege to be Vivienne's mother, no matter how tired or overwhelmed I get. No matter the fact that I've been up with her every night for the last two weeks (as well as Mitch, let's be fair) due to teething and sickness. Even though my body doesn't feel the same and sometimes all I want to do is sleep for an entire weekend and have movies and food brought to me in bed. And I don't want ANYONE to talk to me for a whole 24 hours. Even when she doesn't nap, doesn't eat, and just wants to be held. Even when I go to check her diaper and end up sticking my finger knuckle deep into a big mushy poo. AND IT GETS UNDER MY FINGERNAILS. Even then.

Even in those times, I would rather be Vivienne's mother than anything else in the whole wide world. I'm the lucky one who gets to be a Mommy!

Little Pookie

Or my little Nut Nut, or Tootie, or Little Lion (growling is her favorite way of communicating). Oh, the many names for my sweet baby girl!

Pageboy

Getting Vivienne to stay in this thing takes an act of GOD lately. She is way too mobile to be locked up in JAIL. Offering her Daddy's hat while we clean up the kitchen seemed to work though. If you ask me, this is the cutest Pageboy look I have ever seen!

Milestones

Vivienne has 2 teeth! And she is 8 months old! And we got a "family" car (Honda CRV, decked out with leather and, wait for it, wait for it, BUTT WARMERS in the front seats). My talented husband is also building the world's most beautiful modern fences in the backyard, you know, in his spare time. This family has come a long way in the last month!

Joy

Sometimes I have to struggle to see the glass half full. I am that person, always have been -- something Mitch was aware of BEFORE he married me. When life feels overwhelming and like I just can't come up for air, and when bad things happen such as: volcanoes and floods and oil spills and racist laws in Arizona, this face is the one that brings me out of it every time. One day at a time.

Thighs

These are what I get to gnaw on all the time. They are stuffed into those little trousers like sausages in casings!