4

Mia Jane,

Today you turn 4.  I cannot believe it.  4 years ago this morning, at exactly 1:57 am, your Daddy and I welcomed you into this world for the first time.

You have been nothing short of amazing since that very moment and you have taught us so much about patience and understanding.  You've shown us the world through your eyes and that is one of the greatest gifts.

You are spunky, sassy, witty, goofy and oh so very smart.  You are an amazing big sister and you often tell us just how much you love her as you cover her in your hugs and kisses.

And your heart...it is as big as the ocean.  You care deeply for those around you and hate to see people sad or upset.  Your I love yous and those wonderful hugs you give are the best!  Your smile is contagious and your silly sense of humor is something I hope you keep around forever.

You're growing up too fast.  You're no longer my baby, but now my little girl.  You have changed so much in the past few months.  I'm not sure if it's because you are not in preschool or if it is just because you are getting older, but I want you to know something.  I will never stop telling you this...

Never Stop Being YOU.

You are wonderful, beautiful and perfectly sassy just the way that you are.

We can't wait to see where this world takes you, but I have a feeling you will go far...

I'm so proud to be your Momma Mia Jane.  I hope you don't ever question that.  I hope you know just how much you are loved each and every day.

And even though you are a little girl now, you will always be my baby.

I hope #4 is the best year yet.

With Love, Always & Forever,
Mommy

Three

Today, we celebrate this amazing girl.

Words cannot express how proud I am of her and how proud I am to be her Momma.

She is my everything.  There is nothing more that I look forward to than seeing her shining eyes and smile at the end of a busy day.

I always wondered what motherhood would be like.  I always knew I would be one some day.  But I never thought this experience would be as wonderful as it has been over these three short years.

I've learned so much and I've grown so much through motherhood.  Motherhood and parenthood have taught me so much about who I am as a person, my strengths, my weaknesses.

I've been challenged and so has my Husband.  We are always working on being the best that we can be because at the end of the day I feel strongly that is the best we can do as parents.  We can only do the best that we can do.  It may never be enough.  It may never be perfect, but that is ok.  This is life.  We are to learn and grow through this process, every step and stage along the way.

*******************

Dear Mia,

Today we celebrate your third birthday.  I cannot believe it has been three years already.  It seems like it was just this time yesterday that we were in the hospital enjoying you, our new baby.

Here we are.  So much has changed from that moment.  You are amazingly smart, witty and kind.  You never run out of hugs or I love yous. You love to talk.  You continue to be my shadow, everywhere we go.  You're my buddy and sidekick.  People continue to tell me how much you resemble me.  Lucky you :)

Each day you amaze me with what you know and if you know anything, you certainly know how to rock a dance party.  This is by far your favorite thing.  You've even started singing along to songs and I'm not sure there is anything much cuter than watching you sing and dance.  You know your numbers, letters, shapes, colors and animals. You want so badly to be able to tie your own shoes.  You show signs of independence.

You love to draw, color and paint.  You love your babies and have really started to love the Disney princesses, especially Rapunzel.  You love shoes, especially boots.  You love your socks, but mostly love to mismatch them when you pick them out in the morning.

You are so special to me and your Daddy.  You will always be you and nothing will change that.  Our lives will be changing in the coming months when your sister arrives, but I want you to know that you will always be my baby.

You will be such a great big sister.

I'm so proud of you and love you with every ounce of my heart.

I love you.
How much?
So much.
How much is so?
Way, way more than you know.

Always and Forever,

Momma

Cheers To You Sissy

Happy Birthday to my big sis today!  I can't believe she's 37.  How did we get so old?

She's my best friend, a great mother and someone I can always count on to be there for a much needed vent session, no matter what the topic.

I'm lucky to have two wonderful sisters.  One of the big reasons why I truly feel it is so important for Mia to have a sibling.

My sisters are so important to me and I don't know what I do without either of them.

Shannon and I have a great connection.  We have far surpassed our days of adolescence when we didn't get along, she would try to suffocate me with pillows and make me pick up dried up dog poop out of the yard.  Yes, yes she did.

When I found out I was pregnant with Mia and was able to finally go set up my registry she was the first person I called.  I was so excited to get to that point because let's be honest it's way more fun to register for a baby than a wedding.  But where to begin and what do I really need, thank goodness I had her or I'm pretty sure I would have had all the wrong parts for her bottles.

She has always been a great person to go to for advice.  She's a phenomenal mother and much of what I go to her about is about motherhood, parenthood and sometimes work.

She's raising two daughters.  One who is almost 7 and then other is about to turn 5 this fall.  She worked before babies and stopped to stay home with them and she is now slowly venturing back into the working world.  I'm just proud of her.

She's come a long way as a person.  She's much the intravert, something I am not, but she has really opened up and spread her wings the last few years.

And of course, what would be a birthday without a Happy Birthday video from Mia.  I have a feeling this will become a tradition.

Sunday we will celebrate with dinner at her favorite Mexican restaurant and I'm so excited to celebrate what will be her 37th amazing year of life.

Cheers to you Shanny!

I love you!

xoxo,

Melly

June 4, 2012

I turned 34, yes THIRTEEEEE FOUR.

Wowza.

Here we are with that whole time thing again.

I'm 34, just days away from celebrating my 5 year wedding anniversary and within months from watching my daughter turn 3.

Hold me closer Tony Danza.

I took the day off from work.  It was sunny and warm and perfect.  I met my family and friends at the pool for a day of relaxation and Vitamin D.  With the exception of when she had to potty, Mia did not get out of the water until 3:30.  We got there at noon.  Girlfriend's a fish, just like her Momma (haaaaallelujah). We topped off the day with a BBQ at my parent's house.

I put my phone away (well it was a business day, so I did check it periodically to make sure the world of commercial real estate was not coming to an end because of my absence).

I put my camera away and just soaked up the day.

I'm a lucky girl.  I have a very full heart after yesterday.

It's so easy to get sucked into the busy-ness of life.  It's so easy to let the responsibilities and life as a whole become a stress.  The list of never ending to-dos both personally and professionally is often overwhelming.

But then there are days like yesterday.  Perfect.  A great reminder that this is my life.  This is my one shot.  To make it what I want.

The chores can wait, the laundry can wait, but time with my family and friends cannot.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Do note, that tonight will be spent cleaning, putting away laundry and getting my house in a less chaotic order than I left it this morning because I'm learning to let it go a couple of days, but not forever.  Let's not kid ourselves.  

Sing A Little Song

Can we just pause for a brief moment?  

I was unable to get on Blogger yesterday because of some malware detection warning 

and like any good computer user I did not click here and come back tomorrow (today) instead.  

All seems ok.  Thank goodness.

Well, it's officially official.  All three of us have joined the 30 Club.  Where does the time go?

Lindsay, the youngest of the three of us, turned the BIG 3-0 this past weekend.  I'm not sure how this has happened so quickly.  All of us.  All of us now in our 30's.

She's my little sister and will always seem little to me.  I still think she should be offered the kiddie menu when we go out to eat.  The girl still needs crayons and a booster seat please!

I'm very blessed by my sisters.  Their existence in my life means the world to me.  I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for the both of them.  They are shoulders to lean on and cry on, they are voices that I just need to hear sometimes, they are the hugs I need when I see them.

Lindsay is special.  The baby.  She'll always be the baby.

I've always tried to protect her.  As the baby, she always got away with more and it seemed always had someone to make excuses for her or defend her for some of the things that she would do.  I guess that's normal.  I'm the middle child, so I've always tried to keep the peace and still do.  I'm the "I just want everyone to get along" type and I'll do what I can to make sure that's the case.  There's an eight year gap between my oldest and my youngest, so let's just say they didn't always "mesh well."

She's the artsy daughter.  A dancer, a photographer, a true gem of a person.

She's beautiful both inside and out.

I'm very lucky to have her in my life.

As we all now can officially say we are embracing our 30's, I still can't believe it!  But I do know, as I approach 34 (eeeeeek) this year and my oldest sis approaches 37 (eeeeeeeek) that we are all stronger, wiser and more amazing women!  I'm very proud of my sisters.

Mia, as she rocks her 2nd year of life, is really turning into quite the performer, so for the past few birthdays of family, she's been singing them a little diddy because let's be honest as soon as you say let's take a picture or video she is GAME ON.

So without further adieu here is Miss Mia with a little something special for her Aunt Lou.

Happy Birthday Luda*!  This will be your best year yet!

Love,
Melly

*As you can see we have a nickname problem in our family AND it also applies to our pets.

Happy Birthday!

Tomorrow is the big day!  My Hubs turns the BIG 4-0!  I'll be the first one to confirm that he is not thrilled about this "milestone."  He's never been a fan of birthdays because he just says he's another year older.  I'm working on that.  Birthdays are a time to celebrate not put yourself into a depression.

40 is a big year though.  Think about it.  30 was a big deal for me, but 40 will feel different.  I can agree with him there.

We celebrated big this year! Headed to Vegas and slept, drank and played like we were 22.  Tomorrow we will celebrate some more, go out to dinner and we'll give him his gift, created by the hands of his daughter.

To my Hubs,

To me age is just a number.  To you it's another year of getting older.
To me it's another year that I've grown to love you even more.
To me it's another year of watching you become an amazing Daddy.
To me it's another year to spend together as a couple.
To me it's another year to spend together as a family.
To me it's another year of memories.
To me it's another year of having you in my life.
And to me...I'm happy to celebrate you and us and the family we have created.

After all this is what life is all about!