Today, I fell in love...

I was sitting in the living room drinking a cup of coffee and watching the Today Show. All of the girls were in the playroom watching cartoons. Mason started to whimper a little and it quickly turned into a full blown cry. I poked my head around the corner and said “what’s wrong Maci Moo?” She looked up at me smiled, started bouncing up and down with excitement and then she reached for me for the first time! I picked her up and she laid her head on my chest, looked back up at me and smiled and then laid her head back down. I was done! That was the moment I fell in love with Mason. Of course, I have loved all my girls since before they were even born but I can clearly remember the moments that I really fell in love with each of them.

Kennedy was just a few weeks old. I was sitting on the couch in the living room, holding her in my arms. I was singing “you are my sunshine” to her. She looked at me and stared into my eyes for what felt like forever, and smiled. I will remember that moment for the rest of my life, it was heaven!

Hayden was a little older. I was lying on the sofa watching TV. Our dog, Daphne was curled up next to me and was bouncing around, climbing back and forth over me. After entertaining herself like this for a while, she crawled over to me, rubbed my cheek with her little hand (she still does this when she is sleepy), stuck her two fingers in her mouth and fell asleep. That was it!

I thought I knew what it meant to love a child. My niece had lived with me for a few years and I loved her so much. I could never imagine being capable of loving like I do today. Lately, I have been catching myself getting choked up when I realize how fast they are growing. Kennedy will be in Pre-K this year at the elementary school and she will be riding the school bus! I can’t believe it! I just want to be able to remember these moments forever.