Mother’s Day From the Other Side

What a wonderful first Mother’s Day- I really couldn’t have asked for more! It’s such an amazing feeling to experience Mother’s Day from the other side now. I feel like I’ve been on the verge of happy tears all day, being surrounded by generations of strong, independent, hilarious, and loving women going before and after me. The cycle of life is a beautiful thing!

Happy Mother’s Day to Moma, Bubba, GG, Jeanne, and Peggy- the most important mamas in my life. Thanks for all you have done for me and the sacrifices you have made to make my (and John’s) life better. I only pray that I can somehow repay the favor…and give the same gift to Helen Grace. We love you!

Helen Grace gave me an early morning wake-up call at 4:45 a.m., but I was actually happy about cuddling with my baby girl in her dark, quiet room. After a bottle, she was out cold again, so we got to sleep in until 7:00. Then when she woke up, John hopped out of bed, got her dressed, and took her for a walk so that I could sleep a little later.

My dad and John surprised the mamas in the family with brunch at the Hunt-Phelan home. We had never been there before, and wow, it was so elegant and a step back in time! It was the perfect place for a celebration of mamas and babies, and we enjoyed a relaxed and delicious brunch, centered around Helen Grace of course. :)

After brunch, we came home and zonked out for a nice afternoon nap. Then, the packing began! We leave on Tuesday morning for John’s aunt and uncle’s retirement party in upstate New York, and I’m so nervous that I will forget something or not have the right clothing for HG or me. Ms. Jeanne talked to her sister in New York tonight, and it SNOWED yesterday but was recently 60 degrees….arg!! I am sure we are over-packing, but at least we will have a little something for any weather. I can’t wait to have almost a whole week with John AND Helen Grace 24/7! They will probably both be tired of me within the first day or so, but yay for a family vacation!!

Enjoy some pics from my very *official* first Mother’s Day!

Chit-chatting with Spif She loved pointing at the beautiful artwork on the ceiling and walls. I swear she spent most of the meal looking up at the ceiling.  Still fascinated with all the fancy paintings Cuddling with Grandma Giving Geggy some love too  “Reading” to us Me and my favorite girl (Her cute shoes had come off by then…at least they made it through most of the meal.) You wouldn’t believe how many shots of this we tried. At least in this one, three of four of us made eye contact with the camera! Opening my gifts My mom got all of us pocket mirrors with HG’s picture on one side. Of course, Helen Grace has never met a mirror she didn’t like- much less one that had her own face on it as well!  “Look, it’s ME!” (I still can’t believe that cutie patootie is really mine sometimes.)All of us with our Helen Grace mirrorsSpif got HG her first pair of Keds too. We needed to find some non-sandals for our cold weather trip, and Keds were the perfect answer- and cute too!My little helper is ready to FLY!