Memorial Day Weekend Warp Drive

Last weekend, the starship "Expedition" (read: Ford, Expedition) set out on a course to chart the newly discovered Gamma quadrant (read: New Orleans) and planned shore leave for Captain Chris's birthday! Lieutenant Zara (chief of security) happily tagged along, enjoying the sounds and the tastes! Commander April (ship's counselor) loved seeing the unique architecture and watching Captain Chris experience his high performance birthday present!

A spontaneous marching band parade captured Lieutenant Zara's attention, and, in true New Orleans fashion, she was chosen for a set of "beads" (no flashing required ;-). 

The left picture is titled "Lambo-baby" around these parts. Captain Chris was so dang proud
seeing her in the bonnet of a supercar!

New Orleans is about a six hour drive from Houston, and thankfully Zara snoozed most of the way there and back. I had my first taste of the famous "beignet" (yummmm), and Chris hopped in the driver's seat of a Lamborghini and Ferrari. It was a fun 36 hour-or-so trip!

Stunnin' 'til the weekend

Can we just take a minute to bask in Thursday afternoon? Especially when "Thursday" is really "Friday" and it's a long weekend? It's sunny and breezy outside, I don't have to cook any meals for at least 36 hours, and Chris is finally getting his birthday present (more on that in future post!). I had an amazing time checking out the James Webb Space Telescope today (another future post) and my baby is learning to use a phaser (ok, actually it's just the dog's hairbrush, workwithme!).

This week I was struck by this quote, "When a flower doesn't bloom you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower" (Alexander den Heijer). So true. I'm still learning to go easy on myself, to be kind, to be part of the positive environment where my little Zara flower can grow. She is so much of the environment around me - the good part...the good good part. When those self doubt thoughts creep in, her squeaky giggles push them out of the way. When my mind starts racing about my to-do list, she buzzes her lips and waits for me to return the gesture. She's crazy and silly and sweet and careful; Chris and I are so thankful she is part of our little environment - helping us to bloom.

A Few Honest Words on Mother's Day

I finally feel like I am blossoming into the mom I always pictured myself to be.

If I'm being honest - those first days and weeks and months were incredibly difficult. I was sleep deprived (duh), feeling guilty because of our issues with breastfeeding, my body was in complete disarray, and I was struggling with anxiety issues. And as life goes - we had a funeral, a graduation and a wedding all within the first 3 months and each over a 10 hour drive away from home. And while a baby is no doubt an incredibly huge life change, there were other, more subtle life changes to deal with as well. I had to learn how to take care of a newborn by myself for 2 months, then we had live-in grandparents to help bridge the gap until a spot in daycare opened up, I had a mix of emotions going back to work and finally it was a whole new routine once daycare actually started.

But all of those challenges bring us to now - Zara is almost 15 months old! She is walking and starting to talk. She has a repertoire of cute little actions. She has a decent schedule, which means the rest of the house has it's sanity! She is just so much fun.

Here are some of my current loves...

I love watching her kick and "swim" in the bathtub, she cracks up sliding back and forth chasing the water. 

I love it when she grabs books from the shelf and flips through them.

I love watching her walk over and pick out a blanket to snuggle.

I love witnessing her chase the dogs and "pet" the cat ("Gently, Zara!!")! 

I love interacting with her, napping with her, and snuggling her close so I can feel that baby smooth skin on her cheek. 

I love watching her choose a snack and drink from her water bottle. 

I love watching her try to catch the falling water in the shower. 

I love pretending to brush my teeth with her toothbrush so she likes to brush hers without screaming.

I love watching her carefully slide down the stairs only to climb right back up again. 

I can't get over her "excited" face with an exaggerated retracted lower jaw and her two little bottom teeth sticking out with surprise in her eyes - it's the best. 

I love displaying her pretty artwork and looking at the pictures her school sends during the day - I'm so grateful we found such a safe place for her to grow. 

I love taking walks and hearing a high pitched "Kitty!" accompanied by a finger pointing in the direction of the nearest dog (haha). 

I love pushing her on the swings and playing peekaboo - both make her giggle. 

I love turning on some music and watching her stop dead in her tracks in order to dance around. 

I love listening to her forget that a recorder is different than a kazoo. 

I love watching her practice her throws (so far, she can only throw behind her ;-). 

Most of all, I love that she is a part of our family - that she made me a mommy - that she has been patient with me as I continue to grow into my role as her mom. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there - especially the ones who have encouraged me through the past couple years!!