2 Kinds of Moms

I just saw this great post on a real parenting blog about how there are 2 kinds of moms- not stay at home vs. working or any other such arbitrary distinction, but the Good and the Not-so-good. Duke Ellington appparently made a similar statement about there only being 2 different kinds of music- the good kind and the rest of it. I hope to be in the "good" category, and be the kind of mom who makes the most out of whatever I'm doing and makes things the best I can for my family. I loved this quote though because it made me think how little difference there really is amongst all of us different mothers- we're all just trying to do our best by our kiddos no matter what our circumstances and that is a tall order sometimes whether you are working or not. I realized early on in my journey through motherhood how great it is to have a variety of mommy friends- some stay-at-home, some working and some in between- and how each of these friends fullfills some different need or perspective taking experience in my life. And in the end, we have so much in common no matter how different our journeys may appear on the surface.

Poop

Since my last post was so serious-sappy, I thought I'd ruin the moment by talking about poop. Or at least by talking about how Emmy likes to talk about poop. It is rather odd to me how the princess phase and poop phase seem to have coincided in our house. Em is currently obsessed with talking about poop and making jokes about poop and just saying poop for the heck of it. Sometimes it is funny and sometimes it is just ridiculous. I'm trying to not give attention to this behavior in hopes that it will be extinguished over time, but it is hard. Poop, poop, poopy!

Lily

Lil will be 5 months old next week. How that happened, I have no idea yet it also seems like she has been here forever. I still don't know who she looks like, which is kind of surprising to me. I thought for sure she would look like Emmy, but she doesn't at all. They both have the Whitt blue eyes, but that is where the similarities stop. When Emmy was born, I took one look at her and thought, "I've known you all of my life... and here you are." It was the coolest thing. I looked into those big, blue eyes and saw part Greg, part my mother and part some old soul that I felt had always been there. When Lil was born, I took one look at her and thought, "Aren't you the most precious, tiny little thing... are you sure this one is mine?" I still look at her sweet, smiling face and wonder who this little person is, but she is definitely mine-all-mine. Emmy has always been a bit of a Daddy's girl, though we are super close too. I tell her she is Mommy's girl and she agrees but reminds me that I have to share her with Daddy. Lil, on the other hand, just might be my gal. Maybe it's because I'm still breastfeeding and she loves to eat, but maybe just maybe this one will be Mommy's girl. I know it is sick, but I just want them both to love me best. I wanted to become a mom so bad it hurt and Greg kind of fell into fatherhood because he was along for the ride (though it turns out he is a truly gifted parent, of course). But shouldn't they love me best, though? I am the mama! Oh, little girls and their daddies. He is so cute and nice, which makes it even harder. He also gives into Emmy's whims much more than me, and he is around less which makes him seem more special. I'm just boring old Mom. Hmm. Well, anyway, I may have some luck left with Ms. Lily. So far, she continues to be an excellent baby. She is our Chill Lil. Super laid back. Only learned to roll over because I made her, and content with whatever. She has been battling RSV since starting daycare 5 weeks ago, so her coughing tends to wake her up in the night which makes me sad. She had been sleeping through the night quite well until recently. She sure is growing up too fast. Much faster it seems than Emmy. These baby months are going too quickly, and I hate that. We'll never have another baby in the house again so I'm trying to relish these days even when they are hard. Sometimes they are very hard, too, I'm not going to lie. Like being so tired you just have to cry for a minute at the end of a long day hard, and I am generally a pretty tough chick. But this motherhood, especially times two, is the biggest challenge I've ever faced. It is also the best thing that has ever happened to me and I thank God for it. And my husband. And my girls. Thank you, Ms. Lily for the toughest yet absolute best 5 months of my life.