Mother's Day = A day to celebrate moms. Now that I am a mom, I completely understand why moms have always felt they should be celebrated every day, not just one day each year :) This is the most rewarding, hardest job but I wouldn't trade anything for the world. Seeing your baby smile or hearing her giggle and squeal with delight makes you forget all about the sleepless nights and those early days filled with so many questions.
Our day began at 3 a.m. as Miss Ellianna decided that was an ideal time to practice her standing skills. For 2 hours. Thankfully, she finally understood that her mama needed more sleep and we went back to bed til 8. Ryan began our day by making his homemade blueberry pancakes and Elli joined us for breakfast by eating her first pancake. Ryan and Elli were excited for me to open my gifts and of course I was teary eyed. I don't blame lack of sleep or hormones. I found myself reflecting on the last few Mother's Days when my heart ached so bad for a baby and I said a quick prayer for all those couples out there who are struggling to become parents as we know firsthand how heartbreaking it can be. However, as any couple who goes through the horrors of infertility understands, when you finally receive your miracle, you appreciate each milestone so much more than words can express.Okay, back to the gifts! Elli signed her card with scribbles, then Ryan and Elli surprised me with a collage of her monthly pictures and the following beautiful pictures:
Ryan is in his last week of school! Yippee! While he finished up some projects yesterday, Elli and I enjoyed a late morning nap, a long walk outside where it was in the low 70s between rain showers, and lots of play time.
Yesterday also would have been my grandma's 80th birthday. She is always in our thoughts as her 3 great-granddaughters have a wonderful guardian angel to watch over them and guide them. Oh how she would love to see these babies grow up but we know she is watching down on them and protecting them. Nanny always put family first, supported her grandkids 1000% and insisted on sending us cookie care packages even after we all finished college :)
Below is a picture from 2009, Ryan's and my last year running the Disney Marathon. I ran the Goofy race that year with the half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon Sunday. I don't think Nanny ever understood what motivated me to run all those miles, but she never complained about waking up at 3:30 a.m. both days to get me/us to the starting line on time. We miss you :)
