(written on Tuesday, August 9th, 2016)
Last night, as Liesl drifted off to sleep on my chest, I decided to stay there in the rocking chair and hold her for a few more minutes rather than put her down in her crib. I closed my eyes and remembered, like it was yesterday, exactly what it was like to hold her a year ago…I remember crying as I wrapped my arms around this perfect little human straight from heaven, gooey and sticky from birth, gently wiggling and moving and exploring this new body and new home of hers. I remember thinking she was the most beautiful thing on this earth. I remember closing my eyes and praying that I could always remember that moment. I remember telling Nick, “That was HORRIBLE! I’m never doing natural birth again!” And then looking down at her and knowing I’d go through it a thousand more times if that’s what it took to get her here.
Happy birthday, Baby Liesl Girl. We love you more than I think you’ll ever know. Thank you for choosing to come to our family.
[…] You see, Liesl’s in this super cuddly phase right now. She’ll be crawling around playing, and all of a sudden she’ll crawl up into your lap and lay her head on your shoulder, stick her thumb in her mouth, snuggle into you, and just stay there for a few seconds. Most days, I’ll enjoy the cuddles, but I’ll also be thinking of all the things that need to get done around the house, or how it’s after bedtime and she should be sleeping. And sometimes I’ll even try to maintain the cuddle while I get up to get something done (it doesn’t usually work). But on Tuesday, every time she laid her head on my shoulder, we cuddled. And cuddled. And cuddled. With no agenda and no to-do list and no guilt. It was just Liesl and mommy. Creating a memory I could hold onto forever. […]