Happy Birthday Ellen

I love you.

The Magic and Mayhem of Mothering a Daughter

My daughter will turn 2 years old next week. She's not really a baby anymore, and toddlerhood will soon pass us by, as well. Sometimes I look at her and wonder how the time got away from me. I just blinked and suddenly she is two!

Two years ago it seemed impossible to me that I could love another creature as much as I loved Sam, that my house could get any messier, or that there was an episode of The Wiggles I hadn't seen. And then Ellen came along, and all of those things were proven false. Suddenly I loved another person more than I ever thought possible. The house got worse, The Wiggles taped some new episodes, and I realized that being a mom to a little girl is a whole lot different that being a mom to a little boy.

Sam was always kind of a mellow kid. . . there's NOTHING mellow about Ellen. She does everything with enthusiasm -- cries, eats, plays and laughs. She has the most wonderful, lusty, big laugh. Nothing held back with her. She's completely girly and tenderly mothers her babydolls like they were real children. She is a joy and a delight and I can't imagine life without her.

I just wish I could figure out how she got from this:

to this

to this!

Happy One Month Birthday, Taylor!

My adorable niece turned one month old on Sunday. Brad and Gayle tell me that she is growing fast and already developing her own unique personality (Brad says her most outstanding quality right now is "spoiled".) He sent me a new picture a few days ago, and it is so darn cute I had to post it here.Happy one month birthday, smiley girl!