Tonight I suddenly remembered toe lint.
Can it really be 2 years already since Nora was a big teeny weeny babe? I remember the first
time I found lint in her toes I laughed out loud.
Nora has been such a joy in our life. Our first year was tough and challenging. But when
she turned one she flipped a switch. The course of a few days she decided she wanted her own bed.
The course of a few weeks she decided she was done nursing. And within a month she was off walking.
Last year she learned balance while crunching leaves. This year we will run and race and throw them in the air and she will talk to me in full sentences. They may be a bit like yoda talks but hey, she gets her point across.
Last year she was just learning to wear shoes. This year she is mastering being comfortable barefoot outside.
Last year she was almost bald. This year I can achieve pigtails and sometimes a pony tail.
Last year I was imagining the day when she'd say "love you" and now she says it louder and louder if you don't respond right away. In fact when Jordan and I tell eachother we love you and she can hear. She'll pipe up after and say love you momma, love you dada. O man.
Nora is coming into that 2 year old stage. Where life can get very frustrating or she can suddenly feel
defiant or violent even. But then there are so many times she makes me melt.
Never before has someone been able to make me put my hand to my chest and say, "o my heart!" as i just turn into a puddle.
Nora is brave, intelligent, hilarious, silly, and so good at including everyone. I love it when she gets all excited and beckons us to follow her and shouts, "Come on guys!"
If i could go back 2 years I would tell myself,
you WILL make it through.
DO NOT STRESS about schedules or doing what books tell you. Learn what works for you and Nora. She DOES NOT fit into any preset approach.
Realize that pretty much everything is a phase.
Do not feel pressured to let her cry. Do what feels right for you and her.
Try a swing! maybe she'll nap in a swing!
breath her in, treasure those hands and those feet and the smallness of size.
take mental pictuers, slow down and memorize moments
treasure this time when she's not mobile :)
Pray more! Read your Bible while you nurse.
Go for walks!
Know that you are exactly what Nora needs. God made you to be her mom and trust that He will help you handle whatever comes your way.
And most of all, remember that motherhood is a journey. No one is a super mom day one or even year 2. It is a journey that constantly changes, challenges, blesses and takes your breath away. try to just enjoy it and teach Nora to do so too. Teach her to sit and breathe in the smells of fall, to feel the sun on her face.
Being a mom is so much more fulfilling yet excruciatingly harder then i ever imagined. I wouldn't change it for the world.
