...and I think Mallory pretty much sums up how we feel about those other tigers. Shh...don't tell Walter!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Go Tigers!
We may have lost this weekend, but we're still fans of our Clemson Tigers! Anna Claire's initials are ACC, after all!
...To Grandmother's House We Go
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Missing You Already
Sorry this post is all over the place; I'm a bit emotional.
Monday I go back to work and while I love my job, I certainly love being a mommy to Anna Claire and Mallory much, much more. I've always known that I would have to go back to work, but now that the day is right around the corner, I am really struggling with my emotions. Tonight Walter and I went to dinner for the first time since my birthday, May 29th, five days before the girls were born. I was looking at the pictures on his cell phone and there was one of Anna Claire just a few days old and her head was resting in the palm of Walter's hand. She was SO SMALL. I burst out in tears right in the middle of dinner because I just could not believe how much she has grown. It's already hard to remember them so small and what it felt like to hold two such tiny babies in my arms, and that breaks my heart.
I have been home with the girls for four wonderful months and I have no idea how to leave them come Monday. I keep telling myself that we are in the best of situations! The girls get to stay with Granny four days a week and Grandmom one day a week (yay! we are so blessed the girls don't have to go to daycare), and everyone knows teachers have it best for raising a family! But it's still going to be so hard. They are growing up so fast; I can't yet imagine not being there for every single minute.
And that's the one thing I've learned in my short time as a mom - time flies by. In the first four months of their lives, the girls have grown and changed more than I ever imagined they could, but I've been right here with them for all of it. When I look back over the last few months and think of everything I have been here for I am so thankful - the first time they made eye contact with me, cooing for the first time, their first smiles and giggles, the middle of the night feedings, the cuddling and kisses, all the little memories that are created everyday. I just can't stop thinking about all the moments I'm going to miss not being with them during the day.
Lately I've been worried about how to "get it all done" once I'm back to work - laundry, cleaning, cooking - and what I've come to realize is that those things aren't going to be that important once I'm home in the afternoon. That time is for Anna Claire and Mallory and the rest will have to take care of itself. The last thing I want in the afternoons is to be stressing out because dinner isn't cooked when I should be enjoying my baby girls. They will have bottles to drink, clean clothes, dry diapers, and a mommy and daddy who love them with all their hearts. And if we go to bed at night with dirty dishes in the sink - so be it.
Every day I look into their eyes and am in absolute awe over how beautiful and amazing they are, how different they are, and how much I love them both. I can't yet imagine what I will feel like Sunday night and especially Monday when I trade in my "stay-at-home-mom" hat for the "working mom" hat. Right now, though, I'm doing everything I can to preserve the memories we've already created together as well as the new ones, but the fact is, I can take all the pictures and video I can, make all the scrapbooks, and blog all day, but none of these things can truly capture the emotions of the moment, the sweet smell of my babies, the feeling of cuddling a warm, sleepy baby at 2 AM, the lump I get in my throat when they smile their great big smiles at me. So, in the end, I am determined to do everything I can to hold onto every memory, to create new ones with every moment we are together, to hold them closer, hug them tighter, and kiss their little angel faces until they can't take anymore.
They will always be my babies and I will always be their mommy, and even though I have to go back to work (and even more so because I have to go back to work), they will know now, more than ever, just how much I love them.
Monday I go back to work and while I love my job, I certainly love being a mommy to Anna Claire and Mallory much, much more. I've always known that I would have to go back to work, but now that the day is right around the corner, I am really struggling with my emotions. Tonight Walter and I went to dinner for the first time since my birthday, May 29th, five days before the girls were born. I was looking at the pictures on his cell phone and there was one of Anna Claire just a few days old and her head was resting in the palm of Walter's hand. She was SO SMALL. I burst out in tears right in the middle of dinner because I just could not believe how much she has grown. It's already hard to remember them so small and what it felt like to hold two such tiny babies in my arms, and that breaks my heart.
I have been home with the girls for four wonderful months and I have no idea how to leave them come Monday. I keep telling myself that we are in the best of situations! The girls get to stay with Granny four days a week and Grandmom one day a week (yay! we are so blessed the girls don't have to go to daycare), and everyone knows teachers have it best for raising a family! But it's still going to be so hard. They are growing up so fast; I can't yet imagine not being there for every single minute.
And that's the one thing I've learned in my short time as a mom - time flies by. In the first four months of their lives, the girls have grown and changed more than I ever imagined they could, but I've been right here with them for all of it. When I look back over the last few months and think of everything I have been here for I am so thankful - the first time they made eye contact with me, cooing for the first time, their first smiles and giggles, the middle of the night feedings, the cuddling and kisses, all the little memories that are created everyday. I just can't stop thinking about all the moments I'm going to miss not being with them during the day.
Lately I've been worried about how to "get it all done" once I'm back to work - laundry, cleaning, cooking - and what I've come to realize is that those things aren't going to be that important once I'm home in the afternoon. That time is for Anna Claire and Mallory and the rest will have to take care of itself. The last thing I want in the afternoons is to be stressing out because dinner isn't cooked when I should be enjoying my baby girls. They will have bottles to drink, clean clothes, dry diapers, and a mommy and daddy who love them with all their hearts. And if we go to bed at night with dirty dishes in the sink - so be it.
Every day I look into their eyes and am in absolute awe over how beautiful and amazing they are, how different they are, and how much I love them both. I can't yet imagine what I will feel like Sunday night and especially Monday when I trade in my "stay-at-home-mom" hat for the "working mom" hat. Right now, though, I'm doing everything I can to preserve the memories we've already created together as well as the new ones, but the fact is, I can take all the pictures and video I can, make all the scrapbooks, and blog all day, but none of these things can truly capture the emotions of the moment, the sweet smell of my babies, the feeling of cuddling a warm, sleepy baby at 2 AM, the lump I get in my throat when they smile their great big smiles at me. So, in the end, I am determined to do everything I can to hold onto every memory, to create new ones with every moment we are together, to hold them closer, hug them tighter, and kiss their little angel faces until they can't take anymore.
They will always be my babies and I will always be their mommy, and even though I have to go back to work (and even more so because I have to go back to work), they will know now, more than ever, just how much I love them.
Gearing Up
Adorable Halloween costumes - check
I think we have everything we need for the girls' first Halloween. I've been reading them Mary Englebreit's The Queen of Halloween for weeks. We're ready; we're excited. Now we just have to wait for October 31st...and so do you! That's the problem with being over-prepared!
Personalized jack -o-lanterns for trick-or-treating (which we won't really be doing; this year Halloween is nothing more than a photo op) - check
Babies' first Halloween cards from Hallmark - check
Halloween story books - check
Halloween story books - check
2008 Halloween Beanie Babies - check
Babies' first Halloween pj's - check
I think we have everything we need for the girls' first Halloween. I've been reading them Mary Englebreit's The Queen of Halloween for weeks. We're ready; we're excited. Now we just have to wait for October 31st...and so do you! That's the problem with being over-prepared!Friday, September 26, 2008
Daddy Time
In an effort to get Walter and myself in more pictures with the girls...
...Here's Walter working with Mallory on her head control. She is doing so much better! No more bobble-head baby! She's still not quite where Anna Claire is, but the doctor checked her out Wednesday and is not worried at all, so neither am I. She said to keep up the tummy time, which Mallory is enjoying more these days, and continue working with her to pull herself up without letting her head flop back just like she's doing in the picture. Good girl!!
...Here's Walter working with Mallory on her head control. She is doing so much better! No more bobble-head baby! She's still not quite where Anna Claire is, but the doctor checked her out Wednesday and is not worried at all, so neither am I. She said to keep up the tummy time, which Mallory is enjoying more these days, and continue working with her to pull herself up without letting her head flop back just like she's doing in the picture. Good girl!!Granny Time
After a day of shopping for Christening gowns, both the girls got some lovin' from Granny. Anna Claire and Mallory did great on our little shopping outing. Everyone oohed and ahhed over them and, of course, they were happy to turn on the smiles!
The gowns, by the way, are beautiful and I cannot wait to try them on the girls. Their Baptism will be November 9th, so we bought size 6 months. The dresses will be a bit big now but should fit perfectly by November. Stay tuned...
The gowns, by the way, are beautiful and I cannot wait to try them on the girls. Their Baptism will be November 9th, so we bought size 6 months. The dresses will be a bit big now but should fit perfectly by November. Stay tuned...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Pictures of You...Pictures of Me
I've heard that it is rare for moms to end up in pictures with their children because they are always the ones actually taking the pictures. So, since I want the girls to know that I was, in fact, present for their lives, I went on a hunt today for pictures of me and the girls. Other than the pictures from the OR, a few pictures of the four of us in the hospital and a couple more on the day we came home, none of which will be shown to the public due to my appearance, ;-) this is all I could find...
At least that's one with each of the girls. We need to do a better job of getting both Walter and myself in some of the thousands of pictures we're taking!
At least that's one with each of the girls. We need to do a better job of getting both Walter and myself in some of the thousands of pictures we're taking!
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