a lil trip down memory lane

as i was going through my old pictures the other day, looking for evidence of the bedbaby addiction, i came across so many old picture that made me fall in love with my sweet girl all over again. and since it's mother's day weekend, i thought i'd share a few of my favorite pictures with you guys & tell you how glad i am to be a mom.

we had infertility issues that we discovered a couple years after we got married and i think that has made me appreciate motherhood even more. after having two miscarriages just 3 months apart when brooke was 3 years old, i decided that the one child i had was fine and enough and wonderful. i'd always imagined that i'd have at least 3 kids, but that didn't seem to be the plan for my life.

so i threw myself, heart and soul, into brooke. she was my miracle. my one and only. the one i think about when i wake in the morning and would throw myself in front of a train to save. my dreams came true when she was born and i've been able to be the mom i was meant to be, for her and her alone.

the sweetest little one year old face i ever got to kiss.

after chicken pox, her face was marked with pink spots, but the smile and chubby cheek dimples still melt my heart.

this is one that i can still just stare at, wondering what she was thinking about inside her head.

brooke and belle having a bonding moment under the table.

she was singing "triangle, triangle, little star," complete with her own hand motions.

i got her a kimono to wear for easter one year. it was way past her bedtime, but her tired little eyes were still sparkling.

scary T-rex only has 2 fingers per hand.

the wonder and awe of bubbles flying around the bathroom.

hmm... should i be a paleontologist or a herpetologist?

good times around the aquarium.

please, mommy, please can't we have another cat? see, this stray really, really loves me!

even on days at home with nothing going on, we still have oodles of fun together.

times have certainly changed in the past 9 years of our lives. there's no more baby voice singing the alphabet song. no one's wearing the dinosaur costume to the store anymore. bubbles aren't as amazing as they once were. but instead i've got someone more closely resembling a companion. we laugh at the same jokes. we like drawing together out of the same tutorial books. i was looking at a bottle of tums to see if she's supposed to get one or two for a stomach ache & she told me, "don't worry, mom, tums are rated E for everyone."  last night she told me that instead of reading books together, she wanted a massage and to just hang out and talk with me.

these are beautiful things. they make my life feel like it matters. they keep my spirits up when they're sagging and put joy into my life when i feel like it's missing.

thank you, God, for making me a mom to this amazing and wonderful girl.