Making Memories

I've gotten really bogged down in the time and energy it takes to be a parent to more than one kid.  It's been a frustrating, exhausting six months.  But the last two evenings (ahem...over a month ago...) I had experiences with my big girl that helped me remember why I enjoy being a mom.

On Wednesday night (10/17/12) after I nursed Baby Boy and put him to bed, I asked Baby Girl if she wanted to go take a walk with me.  It was only about 7:20 and she'd been heading to bed around 7:40.  She also took a nap at the sitter that day, so I knew she'd be okay staying up a bit later.  It was gorgeous outside (highs near 80 in late October in Ohio just don't happen very often).  She was really excited and got her Crocs on in record time.

We took a stroll up the sidewalk until we heard a bug chirping.  We stopped to look for it and finally found it and just stood, watching, for a couple of minutes.  I explained how the cricket made its noise and she could see its legs twitching.  We walked down the sidewalk, hand in hand, talking about mundane things.  She's getting bigger and I know soon she isn't going to want to hold mommy's hand all the time.  We got down the block and turned back, pausing at our cricket to see whether it was still there.  It was.

When we got back to our house, we sat in the driveway and looked at the stars.  She doesn't get to stay awake long enough to see nighttime very often, so she hasn't had much experience in stargazing.  We talked about the shapes up in the stars and just snuggled on the ground.  It felt so good to hold her close to me and to enjoy being outside in the crisp evening air.  I want to remember what her warm skin felt like against mine and how she felt snuggled in my lap forever.