Five on Friday: Best Mom Moments

We all have those days when we feel like unstoppable rock star moms andour babies take multiple 2+ hour naps in a day, meet new exciting milestones, and of course, my personal favorite, won't stop babbling "mama mama mama".  There are also those days when we seriously wonder how we are keeping it together and know that the strangers in the grocery store are judgingly looking at our unshowered unmakeuped selves wondering why on earth our child is not wearing any socks - no wonder they are crying their head off. #amiright

For me, those extreme scenarios are what makes being a mom the best job in the world.  I know I have been MIA from the blog recently and I need to be better about writing consistently - after all, the reason I keep this blog is so my kids can look back at it when they are older.  For now though, I will just have to sum up the highlights of the past few weeks in what I like to call my best mothering moments, and I call them my best because thinking back to them I can't get the smile off my face.

One - Just last week, Gretchen and I made our weekly shopping trip to Coscto and Target.  While unloading our Costco goods I cut my finger on some plastic.  Not realizing it, I went to put G in her car seat and noticed she had blood all over her onesie!  Of course I started freaking out and frantically searching every 28.5 inches of her petite body looking for a cut before I realized it was coming from my own finger.  I buckled her in and we headed to Target.  I didn't think anyone would notice the blood stains because I just had to grab a few things and planned on being in and out in 5 minute tops.  Who was I kidding?  I don't know what it is about Target but it sucks you in!  Maybe it was alluring Easter decor or the cute maternity shirt I spotted and had to buy (should I remind you I am not even pregnant) but 45 minutes and a good cry because Gretchen's clothes are now in the toddler section later I find myself with a tired/cranky/crying babe.  So I picked her up and decided it was time to actually get the things on our shopping list.  Now that she is crawling and standing, she is more squirmy than ever.  By the time we got to the check out (30 minutes later) she had wormed herself to a football hold with both hands grabbing to the shopping cart (Superman style) and started to test out her lungs just to make sure they still worked - at least she's not crying...right?  Meanwhile I am literally dripping with sweat and can't help but laugh at how ridiculous we both must look before I realize that every person in a 20 foot radius was staring.

Two -  Now that she is almost 10 months old, Gretchen completely understands nap time.  Once the light goes out and her sound machine goes on she immediately puts her head and my chest and starts sucking her thumb to sneak in some cuddles before I put her down.  It's adorable.   There is, however, the occasion (maybe once every other day) when she decides she wants to play and not nap and gets into these laughing frenzy.  One time I was rocking with her and her face was all smooshed into my arm and when  I looked at her and she just knew how cute she must have looked because I smiled and she started smiling back and cracking up.  Or the time when when I was holding her trying to snuggle and she turned her head and started blowing fart noises into - we both could not stop the laughter that time.

Three - Gretchen pulls herself up all the time now.  She also likes to climb on top of me whenever I am sitting on the ground. Well, a few days ago David and I noticed that her crib is filled with teeth marks and chunks of missing paint from all of her gnawing. She is chewing on everything!

Four - G is really had to make laugh.  She catches on to our tricks fairly quick and after a few times of doing something, it is no longer funny.  This keeps Dave and I do ridiculously things all the time just to get a belly laugh out of her.  One thing though that I have found never to fail is tickling her right under her neck on her chest.  First she must only be in a diaper for this to work.  Then you have to hold her hands down (so she wont rip out your hair) and blow a raspberry or kiss her in her tickle spot really fast.  This is a sure fire way to get her roaring.  Another way to get a laugh out of her (and a heart attack out of me) is for day to hold her by her legs and swing her upside down.

Five - I was snacking on some snap peas the other day and she was sitting on the floor right next to me.  Every time I put one in my mouth she made the same motion with her hand even though she wasn't eating anything.  So I got her a bowl of some snacks and we practiced picking them up using a pincer grasp for about an hour.  She is now pro at feeding herself and loves to take handfuls and shove as much as she can into her mouth (kind of like her dad eating popcorn).  Now I just need to teach her how to differentiate between what is food and what is not.

Well there you have it!  Those are the best moments of the past few weeks.  I can't believe how fast she is growing.  She is copying more and more of what we do every day and she is getting so big:  now when I hold her, her body wraps around mine!  She is not the tiny baby we took home from the hospital, that's for sure.  I don't want to forget how proud and happy she makes me every day just to be her mom.