Thankfulness

Hmmmm. What am I most thankful for? That's a tough one. So many wonderful things to choose from. But of course, due to the title and point of this blog...I would have to say Carys wins. It's crazy to think that she will be 1 year old in a little over 2 months. She has completely changed my life...and you know, sometimes you need something like that. Something so monumental can put things in perspective and show you more about yourself than you knew was possible.

So, if you know me, you know that I like to ask silly questions and asking them many times in a "Top 10" style, i.e. "What are your three favorite foods." So along those lines, here are my top 10 (of about 30 million..or as my 4 year old neighbor calls everything imaginable- 'google') things that Carys has brought into my life that I thankful for:

10. She has gotten me to relax...and stress out at the same time. You need both in life to get different things accomplished.
9. I am thankful for her smile and specifically the way she smiles at me when I go get her after a nap, and also the way she smiles at Mike when he comes in the door.
8. The way that strangers light up and turn goofy as they talk to her in a baby voice.
7. The way I get excited for poopy diapers, never thought that would happen.
6. How she just breaks my heart and melts me every time she cries.
5. The sound of "mama." And how that means ME! Nothing like it.
4. The utter joy it is to be with her each and every day.
3. Seeing the specific Sarah and Mike things in her. Amazing.
2. Just getting the honor and blessing of being her Mom.
1. This one has probably been the most pleasantly surprising thing I have found with having her: How she brings joy to my family and friends. All I want is for those I love to be happy and when I see them with her I see happiness. What a blessing. She is the biggest gift to me, but also a gift to others. Thank you Lord!

Oh and I'm also thankful for you!

Sweetness

So, tonight I took Carys with me to our 'Oliver' rehearsal. Let me set the stage for you: 50 kids ages 8-18 with any amount of energy ranging from passable to hysterical, a small cramped room, parents running around with clip boards, a kid (Alec) laying on the floor holding a paper town up to his bloody nose yelling 'I'm ooookay!,' a choreographer watching, berating and not fixing, a director who every 5 minutes would look over at me with wide, terrified eyes... Oh yes. In a word: pandemonium.

It'll get better..
But anyway- Carys was just a doll baby the whole night. She sat in her car seat for the first 15 minutes then one of the parents couldn't wait any longer and scooped her up. Every few minutes, as I was pounding the keys and trying not to focus on the cacophony of sound I was hearing, I would look over to see how she was. She went from lap to lap all with a smile. Whenever there were breaks, all the 8-11 year old girls would crowd around her (and the accomodating lap) as if she was going to read them a story. It was adorable to watch. Once in a while I would hear her cough or 'baba,' and it was everything I could do not to look over at her instanteously. It's strange to be need in two ways at the same time.

Then, as I was packing my multitude of things, this adorable 12 year old girl Kylie came up to me panting and said that I was the luckiest mom in the whole world. I smiled and just kept on kissing Carys and telling her that that girl was right. Heaven.

But the best part of the evening was actually on the way home. Carys was of course tired from entertaining everyone (ha) and was a bit finnicky. I reached back there and tried to rub her cheak. Well, she grabbed my hand with both her hands and squished it on to her face. All over. Her cheeks, her eyes, her nose, her mouth, both hands, and didn't let go. She quickly fell asleep and we stayed like that all the way home. And I realized, that if she coulnd't have all of me right there with her, at least the smell and touch of my hand would do.

Nnhh.

Halloween Pictures

Who me?
Carrot meet Zebra, Zebra say hi to Carrot.
Plowing over the boys already.
Daddy and Zebra outside waiting for Trick or Treators.
A thoughtful pause.