Stay.

"Stay!"
"Mommy, Big Hug!"
"Hugs, Mommy. Stay."

To many Moms, these phrases sound familiar. Maybe when they're about to leave their little one with a babysitter or maybe when tucking their princess in for the night. But for me, it has become a morning ritual and an afternoon revival. A plea for one more cuddle. One more snuggle. One more hug before starting (or restarting) our day. The best gift anyone could have given me. My girl's a snuggler.

From the moment she entered the world, she wanted to be held close with her little cheek nestled against mine. Her favorite way to sleep was nose to nose and I swear she'd sleep that way today if I let her. In fact, on the nights she weasels herself into our bed, I inevitably feel a little hand tugging at my face and turning it so it touches hers.



I write about this because it's been one of my greatest joys in being a mother. These daily snuggles. And I know they won't last forever...and I don't want to forget. But they're here today. And today that's what matters.

So big!

Lily peeled her first clementine all by herself yesterday and was soooo proud! (Forget the fact she won't eat them :) ).




Funny how birth order can play into our lives in the most subtle ways. Lately, we've been preparing my girl to be the oldest child. We tell her how big she is... when really I still see her as my little baby. We praise her for how helpful she is like it's an expectation when really I'm amazed every time she goes out of her way to please me. She's really eating it up, though, and making it her own. When she thought I was asleep last night, I heard her chatting. "Big head. Big hands. Big feet. So big, Yiyee!" I'm so proud of her, but a little sad, too. Don't we all want our kids to need us forever? So for now, I'm so proud of her accomplishments and "big girl" ways, but I don't mind big hugs and protecting her from the mailman either. In fact, I kinda like it. ;)

Lucky Me

Though my true quest in this blog is to capture the moments I have with my precious girl, I thought I ought to take a moment today to appreciate what got her here...the love I have for my amazing husband. Yesterday was his 39th birthday and we celebrated with a quiet family day of cake making and "happy birthday, Daddy"s. Today, my hubby suggested that we both deserved a little pampering and off we went on a day built just for us. Thanks to groupon, we scored (my first ever) massages, treats and time together. Afterwards, we ran errands and chatted and ended the day with a movie in bed. Taking the time for us today really helped me reflect on what makes our family so special and how lucky we are to have one another.
I realize that being happy comes pretty easily in this household and that starts with a strong backbone of a great relationship. Lucky me to have such great people that fill my heart. :)

Lucky

Feeling so lucky to have these two people as my family. They never fail to make me smile. :)

It won't be like this for long

We've had a lot of long nights lately and a lot more moments where patience is hard to find. As we hit smack dab in the terrible twos, Rob and I certainly experience moments where all we can do is laugh at the chaos of it all. One thing we both have in common, though, is we love it. We love the little acts of defiance that somehow come out so adorable. We love to savor the snuggles of a little person who needs just one more moment with Mommy and Daddy. We're both having the time of our lives marveling at the fabulous little person we created. I heard this song today and it spoke perfectly to my feelings about it all...

Artist: Rucker Darius
Song: It Won't Be Like This For Long
Album: Learn To Live

He didn't have to wake up
He'd been up all night
Layin’ there in bed listenin’
To his new born baby cry
He makes a pot of coffee
He splashes water on his face
His wife gives him a kiss and says
It's gonna be OK

It won’t be like this for long
One day we'll look back laughin’
At the week we brought her home
This phase is gonna fly by
So baby just hold on
‘Cause it won't be like this for long

Four years later ‘bout 4:30
She's crawling in their bed
And when he drops her off at preschool
She's clinging to his leg
The teacher peels her off of him
He says what can I do
She says now don't you worry
This’ll only last a week or two

It won’t be like this for long
One day soon you'll drop her off
And she won’t even know you're gone
This phase is gonna fly by
If you can just hold on
It won’t be like this for long

Some day soon she'll be a teenager
And at times he'll think she hates him
Then he'll walk her down the aisle
And he'll raise her veil
But right now she's up and cryin’
And the truth is that he don't mind
As he kisses her good night
And she says her prayers

He lays down there beside her
‘Til her eyes are finally closed
And just watchin’ her it breaks his heart
Cause he already knows

It won’t be like this for long
One day soon that little girl is gonna be
All grown up and gone
Yeah, this phase is gonna fly by
So, he's tryin’ to hold on

‘Cause it won’t be like this for long

It won’t be like this for long

It won’t be like this for long

Going to bed girl

For 3 weeks (at least), we've been in a battle of wills. Routine has moved into the Onesko household. 8:30 bedtime. No middle of the night milk. No sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed. It's all big girl bed all the time. The good news? She doesn't get out of bed. The bad news? She wails for us a million times a night from her bed.

I've tried everything. No nap. Short nap. Activity. No activity. No change. I'm tired. So tired.

So... Tonite, I gave up. It was a Lily and Mommy girl's night and I let her get in bed with me. I was done with fighting. I was done with routine. At 10pm she was literally bouncing around my bed.

10:01
Lily- "Mommy, Yiyee bed."
Me- "I'm not going to lay in there."
Lily- "Yiyee bed."
Me- "You want to go by yourself?"
Lily- "Okay, Mommy. Yiyee bed."
Me- (Thinking) "Yeah, right. Here we go again."

I took her in her room and put her in her bed. She insisted upon her PLASTIC animals in bed with her. I went and made some tea to prepare for battle.

10:15- Checked on Lily. She's...


ASLEEP!!!

I officially have a going to bed girl! ;)

Playing catch up

Our house has been a buzz of new things the last couple weeks and it's been a lot of fun.

First, Lily got a big girl bed! She loves it and is doing great. We're so proud of our growing up girl.










Lily has always loved her Daddy, but has evolved into a new kind of all encompassing Daddy's girl. She dreads the "beep beep beep" she tells me signals Daddy's car leaving for work and clings to Daddy from the second he gets home to the second she closes her eyes at night. From playing iPad, to singing together, to make believe, Daddy is her perfect playmate.





Lots of new phrases in our house. A few favorites...
- "What doing?"
-"Yay Daddy!"
-"Love too, Mommy"
And my absolute hands down favorite... I asked Lily if we should name her new sister Olivia. Her answer? "No, Mommy. Olivia a pig!" Love my funny girl!