10 things my babies have taught me

Before having kids, I never knew that...

1. my belly really could shake like a bowl full of jelly (postpardum, that is).
2. the cries of my own child would strike a never-before felt nerve in me that is so deep I can't describe.
3. that stretch marks would truly become my proud battle scars.
4. babies are born with a radar that senses when mommy is either (a) in the shower (b) just sitting down at the dinner table or (c) just drifting off to sleep (you know that point where you're just enough asleep where it's more harmful if awoken rather than if you never tried to take a nap).
   
5. even a year after a c-section my scar still occassionaly throbs and twinges with tenderness.
6. bubbles in my belly bring back a fond memory of a baby kicking and flip-floping, and makes me actually MISS being pregnant!
7. you can actually SEE the baby move from the outside and is VERY entertaining to watch...we would sometimes turn off the tv and just watch the baby at night (FYI Babies seem to be more active when you're resting...perfect for getting mommy ready for the road ahead).
8. tears of joy come with no warning at all, and if you weren't an emotional person before having a baby YOU WILL become one afterwards!
9. when you give birth you lose brain cells, or so it seems.  I never thought I could be so forgetful and scatterbrained, and those brain cells don't seem to be returning any time soon.
10. Lastly, before having a baby I never knew that love could truly come at first sight and that something so small could completely steal your heart. 

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”

Mommy Cam

I wish that when our children were born a tiny camera switched on in our brains that could be recorded and saved FOREVER!  A camera that took pictures just as we see it, and takes a video that cannot be erased or faded by the years.  There are so many moments I try to capture and hold in my mind and heart forever.  I have to remind myself to take a mental picture. 
Today while walking out of Kroger, we had one baby in the stroller and another working on a gumball in the cart.  I glanced back at Jon to ask him something when I saw him ducking below the yellow balloon that was tied onto the cart.  I smiled and took a picture.  We have arrived, we ARE parents and the babies just keep getting bigger no matter what I do to try and keep them little!  I know one day I'll miss those yelps for a cookie at the bakery counter.  I'll long to hear a plea for the free baloon at the florist booth. 
After Nate's bath he found his blue blanket while I was searching for warmer PJ's before dressing him for bed.  He was running down the hall when I found him and he turned to look at me, wearing nothing but a diaper and the blue blanket wrapped like a scarf around his neck and a cape behind his back.  His hair was tossled and his blue eyes were shining as he smiled.  CLICK!  I took myself a mental picture.
These are simple, sweet moments not often remembered individually or even written about in a letter.  But they matter in the biggest of ways and I cherish the small, simple moments that happen everyday.

Maeisms

Mae refers to McDonald's as "Old MacDonald's" and it really makes me wonder what image she has in her mind when we sing the song...
We have a rule that Mae has to hold my hand while we're crossing a street or in a parking lot, but when we get in a building or on the sidewalk she can just hold onto the side of the stroller.  Every sidewalk is called "sidewalk chalk" by Mae. For example, in a sentance Mae would say, "Ok Mommy, we're on the sidewalk chalk now so I hold onto the stroller."
When we sing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" during the chorus Mae sings:  "Mimi, Mimi.  Safe and Secure from all alarms!"  Jon's mom should be proud, she is Mae's "Mimi!"
Every house that has a front porch is Grammie's house, no matter what city, county or state we visit.
I have celebrated my birthday at least five times a day since June.  Sometimes my candles are pine needles in the sandbox, and other times I'm presented with skinny blocks stacked on a plate while Mae sings the birthday song to me.  Her dolls, baby brother and any visitor that comes to our house has also celebrated their birthday on many occasions.
Mae can act out an entire episode of "Gigi, God's Little Princess" and even has certain "props" she uses in sync with the video...quite entertaining.
If her carseat strap, booster seat strap, grocery cart strap isn't straight and untangled then an elaborate outburst of emotion is required until the situtaion has been resolved...OCD!!  Is it possible for a three-year-old to be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder???  Sometimes I like to call it, "first-child-syndrome."
Mae can dialogue her entire daily routine at any given moment and we better stick to it, or there's a HIGH price to pay!