Don't Forget

Tonight, I am tired.

A long night with Isabel followed by a long day and a tired, whiney baby left me a little frazzled. I was just about ready to call in sick to this whole mommy thing when I got a little bit of a wake up call from myself. I took a few minutes while Isabel was eating her dinner (Mac n cheese and blueberries, her favorite) to fill out the year one page in her Birthday Book. One of the questions made me nostalgic ("How do I picture you when I close my eyes?"), and once I finished the page, I quickly scanned through the rest of the book - a 10 second action that lead me to the page for her 18th birthday.

Wow.

Tears started streaming down my face thinking of my BABY being 18 years old. Every single little frustration I had with Isabel instantly left and all I wanted to do was hold her and not let her grow up!!

But that is part of life - we grow, and generally it is for the better!

This mama doesn't ever want to forget these precious moments I have when my babies are, well, babies. So here are a few things about One-year-old Isabel that I never want to forget:

1. Her curly blonde hair and her big blue eyes.

2. Her dimples - and that grin, the oh-so-cute one where she squinches up her whole face with a smile.

3. The way she crosses her ankles when she sits on the ground or in her car seat.

4. Her favorite phrase of "Oh, Wow!" If only we could all be as enthusiastic as Isabel!

5. Her awesome animal noises. The two grunts she makes for a puppy dog sound, and the one hand up and high pitched noise for an elephant...

6. Her favorite song is the Doxology and we sing it a LOT. My favorite thing about our morning trips to Nana's house is singing this to her and then at the end she makes a sound that kinda sounds like "aaraaanh", which actually means "amen."

7. Her intelligence. This child is a baby genius. She picks up on things so quickly and her vocabulary at 13 months astounds me.

8. How much she loves her daddy - she's always excited to see him, play with him and especially to have him tickle her.

9. Mornings when we can stay in bed and snuggle for a few extra minutes and she gives kisses and then puts her face up to your mouth to have you kiss her. She is so loving and gentle in these moments and I can not begin to tell you how much I cherish this.

10. Her sweet giggles. They are magical and contagious.

Mommy loves you forever, Isabel Jane!