Things I Want To Remember

My wonderful friend Andrea wrote a post about the things that she wants to remember about her daughter, Katie. Katie is 13 1/2 months old and is at that stage where she is into everything. This post inspired me to do the same for my little Reese. My daughter Reese is 5 1/2 and was born on Andrea's birthday {Lucky Day: June 7th} Andrea was actually supposed to come to our house for dinner that night, but we always laugh and say that I had her a baby instead! So, in honor of my friend & my daughter, my birthday twins, here is a list of things that Reese is doing right now:

• Until recently, she has never had a favorite-can't-sleep-without-it toy or blanket. Josh's mom gave her a Polar Bear stuffed animal and for some reason, she is really attached to it. She puts her doll clothes on it and it comes everywhere with her (except for school). I have put her (the polar bear, not Reese!) in the wash a few times because frankly, it starts to gross me out when I think about where this bear has gone and what it has touched. I am glad that she has a favorite friend though.

• She is really loves any little toy. By little I mean Polly Pocket sized toys. No boyish toys for this girly-girl. We gave her a Strawberry Shortcake little play set for Christmas and she loves it. I do too. I love the Strawberry Shortcake smell and really wish that they would make it into a perfume already.
  


• She likes to make sure that her toys are "comfy." She likes to make them beds out of little boxes that she puts socks (clean ones!) or wash cloths in little boxes to make them feel comfy. It is really cute and I find these little beds everywhere. Josh suggested that I take pictures of the stuff that she makes, so I have been. I will post some pictures.



• She likes to pretend to be Rachel Ray when she is taking a bath. It is hilarious. She totally gets into it. She says things like, "Okay and on Rachel Ray today, we are going to learn to make really yummy, uhhhhhh, toasts with, ummmm, jelly." Then pours water into little cups in the bathtub. The best is when she leaves for a commercial break, "we'll cook that right after the messages."

• She is enjoying being in Kindergarten, although I know that she sometimes feels like "everyone else knows what to do & sometimes I don't." Oh, Reesey. We all feel like that once in a while...even when you're a grown up!She is just about to start spelling & reading...which sometimes results in some hilarious new words: "pocoporn" (popcorn) and "horsores" (horse).

• Has been asking about babies. like where they come from. She asked me while we were driving, "how is a baby made Momma?" I almost drove off the road, but did tell her that we could talk about it more when Momma wasn't driving (and to give Momma some time to look up age-appropriate baby-making talk for a 5 year-old!) I also commented that "Well, and you know, God puts the baby there, blah, blah, blah..." She responded with, "Yeah, but how does the baby get IN there?"

• She likes to sing. And talk. A LOT. Especially when we are in the car and it is just me, Reese and the open road...or just driving around Denver. She sings "Home On The Range," but instead of "where the deer and the antelope play" it becomes "where the deer and the cantaloupe play." Priceless.
  


• One day while driving, we passed a pickup truck with a camper on top of the bed of the truck. The camper had a ladder on the back. Reese looked at the camper and told me, "Momma. That camper has a pool on top." I said, "Really? How do you know that?" She said, "It has a ladder on the back & that is how you get to it." I had to turn my face out the window to hide my smile. It was one of those moments that I wish I could bottle up and keep forever.

I know the baby days of not much sleep, teething, poopy diapers, drooling, never ever getting anything done are very tiresome for mommas. But they go by so fast and the next thing you know, you have a little person hanging around with you. I look at pictures of myself with Reese when she was a baby and I want to reach through the photo and give myself a hug and tell me to be more gentle with myself. To believe in myself and most of all, to tell myself that I was doing a good job. I did try to live in the moment during those early days and I am glad. They went by so fast and now they are memories. I look forward to each day that I spend with Reese. She has taught me a lot about being myself, learning to let go & let God, playing more & worry less. She has taught me to take myself less seriously & for that, I am forever grateful.