Mother's Day (two days after)

Two days ago I celebrated what I count as my second Mother's Day. Even though Tobin was born four days after Mother's Day last year, I already felt like his mama and he was making his presence known in my pre-labor contractions. As Matt noted, Mother's Day fell on my law school graduation day, so in many ways celebrating that accomplishment eclipsed reflecting on the beginning of my motherhood experience. If I were comparing the two, I would say that this Mother's Day was way better simply because I know Tobin much better and got to hang out with him.

I kind of made a weekend out of Mother's Day. On Saturday, I got a pedicure, bought Tobin an adorable first birthday party outfit at a too-pricey children's boutique, did some much needed housecleaning while the boys went shopping (doing housework actually was enjoyable for me since it helps reduce my stress/anxiety about the level of cleanliness in our home, which by my measure is always lower than I'd like), and finished the night by going to an early dinner with Tobin and Matt (steak followed by a delicious chocolate cake and strong coffee). And I haven't even gotten to Sunday when...I opened two sweet cards and some gifts from my boys (Microplane grater/zester, Silpat baking mat, Norah Jones CD--all perfect for me), we all went to church, I took a 2-hour nap with Tobin, and Tobin and I went grocery shopping. Perhaps grocery shopping seems a bit of a chore to do on Mother's Day, but if you know me well, you know that I really like grocery shopping and it was fun to take Tobin along and talk to him while I shopped. Plus, as usual, he was remarkably cute. I gave him a bag of baby carrots to "hold" and then a box of penne pasta. He seemed to enjoy having the bag on one side of him and the box on the other; he would pat them and smile as we rolled along.

This past weekend was truly wonderful, reminding me of how incredibly blessed I am. Blessed to have such a supportive, giving husband who is also a loving dad. Blessed to have a happy, healthy, sweet son. My heart swells when I watch them together. This past year has been so special.