The Mom I Want to Be

I often think about the person I want to become. I've pretty much always known, though I'm more sure now than ever, that my greatest aspiration in life is to be a mother. But not just any mother. An awesome mother.

I don't need or even remotely want to be a "cool" mom or a mom who tries to be her teenager's best friend. But I do want to have fabulous and meaningful relationships with my children. I want them to know that I love and cherish them and care about them more than I care about anything else.

Every once in a while, I see examples around me of women who are THAT mom I want to be. I saw one in the grocery store last week. At the end of the laundry soap aisle, I saw a little girl, probably about 3 or 4 years old who was obviously upset and crying. Rather than scold her daughter for making noise in public (like too many people do), this very pregnant mom knelt down on the floor and just hugged her little girl. And I don't mean gave her a quick pat on the back and told her to buck up. She really hugged her and didn't let go until she stopped crying. It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes, right there next to the laundry soap and toilet paper.

That's the mom I want to be. I want to be patient and loving and always, always put my kids first.

Because kids deserve love. Even if maybe they've made a mess and eaten 3 of your Rook cards.

8 months

At 8 months old, my dear sweet Libs

• has 8 teeth
• crawls with her tummy off the ground
follows me around the house like a puppy dog
• still tries to eat everything she can get her hands on
• pulls herself up to a kneeling position
• occasionally pulls herself up to standing
• thinks it's hilarious when I dance (which...it is)
• plays hide and seek - she covers her face with a blanket, (usually) waits for us to say "where's Libby?" and pulls it down
• is totally entranced by the computer and printer

• says Momma - Jared and I debate whether she is actually saying Momma or just making M sounds, but I think she says it with purpose. She usually says it when she is hanging on to my leg begging me to pick her up.
• goes to bed at 7 PM and gets up between 6 and 7 AM, which would be totally awesome except for those 2-3 night wakings. We're dragging her crib out to the living room these days (so she's not in the same room as us) and it really helped the first couple of nights, but no such luck since then. I keep hearing these horror stories about babies who don't sleep through the night until they are 3 or 4 years old and it makes me want to crawl in a hole to even think that that could happen. Oh Sleep Fairy, please come visit us this month!
• goes on hikes in the backpack carrier
• and...is just generally adorable. Love you, Libs.