Memories and Milestones

Thanks to the grocery cart cover that my Zeta sister Allison sent to Claire and the fact that gravity no longer keeps Claire down face first when she tries to sit up, we made our first trip to the store without her carrier!  I was thrilled not to have to carry that seat from the parking lot to the closest cart regardless of their squeaky wheels because I simply need to put down this growing baby inside of an already heavy carrier....

But I was kind of sad because it meant she was really growing up.

I am confident that years from now I will not try to slap the younger version of myself and say "you should have stopped to note those memories and milestones because she is grown now."  Because, I am stopping.  I am even stopping in the middle of the grocery store to take pictures of my sweet babe in her first grocery cart ride sans carrier.  And I am stopping to pick up some new links for her to play with because I know how much she loves them.

This also made me think about all of the things I know about Claire and what she knows about me.  She knows I am her mommy.  Yes, she gets very excited when she sees Grandmomma, Honey and Auntie Jessica, but she knows that I am her mommy and nothing can replace the thought of that.

She knows that when Daddy lays her down at night, he is not coming back.  However, she also knows that when Mommy lays her down, even the slightest wail will bring me back into the nursery to scoop her up in my arms and rock her back to slumber.

Then I began to think about the things I wanted to teach her.  I want her to know that she is a child of God and that He loves her even more than I do.  I want to teach her to be kind, share, love people not judge people, nurture relationships and have faith.  I want her to know that she can follow her dreams, wherever they may lead, and that her family will support her as she finds her way through life.

No, I will not take on another thing that keeps me from my family a minute longer than absolutely necessary.  I will stop, breathe in life, and remember these memories and milestones.