Mother's Day

Apparently I've stooped to only blogging about holidays?  And apparently I didn't write a post last year commemorating my first Mother's Day.  

What the what, right?

Not only did I not post our (now obligatory) mommy and me Mother's Day picture last year, but I didn't reflect on how I was feeling after five months in the trenches of new mamahood.  I would have really enjoyed looking back on my sleep deprived words and heart to see how much Camden and I have both grown and changed since.  No doubt I was madly in love with him then and loved celebrating the fact that I get to be his mommy, but I truly feel like my love for him has grown exponentially this past year.

I made it pretty clear that I was emotional about Camden turning one year old, leaving the baby behind in the dust.  Now, he's quickly approaching the year and a half mark, and had I known that he was going to be the funny, sweet, snuggly, and busy boy that he is today - I'm not sure I would have been as sad.  Still sad, yes, but not my-baby-is-the-first-baby-ever-in-the-universe-to-turn-one-year-old-what-am-I-going-to-do-sad.  

The truth is, my little Hammy brings me so much joy and pride, that sometimes I swear I am literally beaming.  He has changed my life in such a way, that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to describe it.  I'll sum it up to say that recently at work, I found a snack bag of crackers in my purse, and it was all I could do to not burst into tears right there at my desk.  The emotions were 25% sadness, wishing I was with him instead of being at work, and 75% happiness, realizing that I am a mom - one that keeps crackers stashed in her purse for her little cracker-eating-monster.  

In a really, really weird way - finding those crackers made me really, really, really happy.  I love being a mom.  I love being his mom.

   

On another note, isn't it funny how you don't really appreciate your parents or the love they have for you, until you're a parent yourself?  You finally start to understand the love they have for you, and the sacrifices they made to give you the best life possible.  You find yourself wanting to instill in your kids the things your parents instilled in you, and you want your parents to be proud of the parent you've become.  I had amazing examples of a mother and father, and I hope they know how much I love them and appreciate everything they've done for me.  Not to mention, the amazing gift it's been to see them love Camden and watching him adore them in return.

I sent out some "Happy Mother's Day" text messages on Sunday to some of the most important mommies in my life.  My sister-in-law quickly wrote back and said that she hoped Ryan and Cam spoiled me rotten.  My semi-kidding-semi-serious response?  "I'm just hoping for spoiled.  Spoiled rotten may be setting my expectations to high."  Honestly, the fact that Ryan changed Camden's morning bomb of a diaper and I got to do the grocery shopping solo was enough "spoiling" for me.  

My Mother's Day was spent getting pedicures and having lunch with Mom and Rachy before coming home to a nice card, pretty flowers, several gigantic bags of candy, chocolate covered strawberries, and new exercise/running shoes.  I'm not really sure what they're trying to tell me with those mixed-message gifts, but I gladly accepted it all.  

Little did I know that Cam was saving the "best" gift for the evening when he took a forehead dive into the concrete step at my parents' house, followed by the dreaded open-mouth-no-sound-cry.

Just call me Mother. Of. The. Year.  

Take Luck,
LP