Little things

I pinned this almost a year ago with the caption 'note to self'. 

At the time I had an infant and I was in the throes of the most disorienting year of my life: no longer working outside the home, missing my friends and colleagues, sleep-deprived, adjusting my expectations about life with a baby, trying to build relationships with other stay-at-home-moms, adjusting to the changes in my relationship with my husband, overwhelmed with love and adoration for my baby, and sleep-deprived, sleep-deprived, sleep-deprived. 

Even in that fog where everything was so unfamiliar, I knew this statement was true. And it helped me remember that those baby days would pass. I pinned it to remind myself to stop dwelling on the things I wanted to accomplish, and find joy in the quiet (or not-so-quiet) everyday moments with Michael. The short fuzzy hair right above his forehead. The way he cooed at us in the mornings. How it felt to hold him and nurse him to sleep. The way he grinned when Tim tossed him into the air. How he smelled like soap and baby cereal when we put him to bed at night. Even during all those months when I didn't write a single blog post, I took pictures to remind me of those precious things I wanted to remember. And I still do that, especially when the days are long and my patience runs short. 

Today I enjoyed the way he wakes up all warm and snuggly from his nap, calling for Ella. The way he devours his yogurt and dips his crackers in peanut butter. The way he tries not to smile when I take his picture. The way he holds his finger in the air and scolds Ella for barking, and how she waits patiently next to his chair, confident that the food will fall. Our routine of eating and talking, cleaning up, then running off to play again. They are little things, but they're the things I want to remember when these toddler days have passed.

~ linking up with picture me {im}perfectly and monday mom musings~