THURSDAY'S THOUGHTS

HAND-DRAWN LOVE BY MADDY NYE FOR DESIGNLOVEFEST

THINKING ABOUT: I'm still trying to wrap my head around the last twenty-four months. Max will be TWO on Saturday, and my heart can hardly take it. So much has happened in such a short period, which is funny because many of our days felt incredibly long and tedious. I wish I had some eloquent way to wrap our experience with Max thus far into a perfect little package, but for the first time in a really long time I'm speechless and quite frankly can't be trusted with a quiet house, loaded keyboard, and that blinking cursor. Will celebrating my baby's birthday get easier with time? Will the mixed emotions ever go away? Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic about what's to come, but I think a selfish part of me is afraid to say good-bye to our past. Despite his tumultuous toddler antics, how could it possibly get better than this? In our early days I prayed for us to get here—for days at the park, impromptu hug requests, dinosaur ROARS, and weekend slumber parties. And while I would never wish having a colic baby on my worst enemy, I look back on those really rough patches and in a twisted way it makes my heart smile. Thinking about Max getting older doesn't make saying good-bye to our first two years any easier, but I get the satisfaction of reminiscing and I can delight in the fact that this boy has changed me forever and for that I'm eternally grateful. As someone who only ever wanted to be just like her mom, I can thank this wily and wonderful little boy for making that dream become such a fulfilling reality for me.   

THANKFUL FOR: My goodness, I'm really glad I made the decision to end that last part right there! I told myself I wasn't going to get all mushy and bawl my eyes out while writing about Max's birthday. Thankfully the sound of the UPS truck buzzing down the street was enough to make me lock it up! Our local delivery man, Jaime, is an absolute saint and I would never want him to see me in the midst of an ugly cry. Lord knows he's witnessed Max sobbing countless times, but as long as he continues to deliver packages from Amazon and J.Crew to yours truly, I will greet him with nothing but smiles. My emotional well-being says, "Gracias, señor!"

WATCHING: That son I spoke so lovingly about earlier moonlights as a tiny dictator. You guys, my kid is as bossy as they come. What the?! He walks around the house wielding his index finger at both parents and dogs giving commands like "Hey!" and "Sit. here. Please!" As this family's leading boss lady, I'm not okay with that kind of behavior. However, witnessing such toddler tyranny was enough for me to text my sister and apologize for all those years I was was extra assertive. Yikes! How did she do it??

EATING: A few weeks ago we went to a BBQ and I was eager to whip up dessert. Clueless as to what I should bring, I remembered a Pioneer Woman recipe that I tried three years ago. Is anyone familiar with Ree's Knock-You-Naked Brownies?! It was only after I took my first bite that I remembered WHY it had been years since I made them last. They're dangerously delicious and it took everything inside of me to send the leftovers with Flyboy to take to work because I couldn't be trusted alone with them. 

LISTENING TO: Did I ever tell you that Max is obsessed with trash (picking it up, throwing stuff away, trash cans, garbage trucks, etc.)?? If not, my sincerest apologies! You must have felt so out of the loop. Snooze. But since this detail is au courant, I should explain that Tuesday is our trash pick-up day. As a result, it makes life on base a real treat from Monday through Wednesday—as all of the tenants leave their garbage cans curbside—and Max insists on bringing EVERY receptacle to our attention by shouting "Trash. AWAY!" Sometimes I feel like I'm experiencing our daily walks on autopilot repeating the same phrases about trash. Don't even get me started on those people that leave their trash cans in the street. It stresses Max out waaaaaaay more than it should.

READING: Hunkered down in the most adorable striped teepee with a fabulous assortment of children's book making all of my motherhood dreams come true, Max opts for the classic entitled I Stink. Yep, you guessed it. My child loves a book about trash! Ha Ha! This was one of those books my mom sent when Max was a newborn. Call it foreshadowing, but who knew it would be a hit?

LOVING: Squeeeee! I get to pick out a pair of Karen Walker shades for my birthday and I'm just a little bit giddy. I think I've got it narrowed down to these two pairs (Number One and Super Duper—leaning toward the tortoise shell option in both), but I could use some helping picking the winner. If you feel like weighing in on the BIG decision, I could certainly use your assistance.

Enough about me. How are you feeling today? What are you up to? Thanks for stopping by!!