52:25 | frilly

Ballet time is about to begin! We have a dancer in the family and she certainly didn't inherit it from Mama!

"Mommy, I want to ballet" is something I hear at least ten times a day. She loves getting dirty but definitely has her girly side. It's the best of both worlds.

52:24 | a blur

She's growing up too fast.

  She's not a baby anymore and I miss that.

I wish there was a pause button so I could soak in all her sweetness. I think back to the day we brought her home from the hospital. Holding my precious baby girl and feeling the pure joy of motherhood. We were just learning what life with her was like. Smelling her sweet baby breath and touching her soft skin. Getting to know her. Each day is more and more precious. There is a quote by Elizabeth Stone that resonates with me...

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” 

52:23 | proud

Aubrey is good at entertaining herself while I clean house. Usually she's right there with me over doing it with the Windex, playing in her kitchen, or reading her books. I love it when I walk by and she's reading to her baby doll. I still remember my Daddy buying me my first hard cover book. It was Swiss Family Robinson and I still have it. He told me how much I would enjoy reading. He was right. One day he'll give it to her.

52:22 | Pleeeeease

It's HARD to say no to my sweet baby girl.

She's spoiled but doesn't always get what she wants or get her way. We don't give in just because it's convenient. We're teaching her right and wrong, responsibility, and consequences. But.... It's still hard to say no when she flashes a certain smile at us. Even Daddy will fall prey to it and give me this look that says "I couldn't help it". Yeah... I know that feeling.

She wanted "just one more" ride on her tractor.

52:21 | Watching your husband be the kind of Daddy you always knew he would be

I could not ask for a better Daddy for our daughter. He was never the guy that refused to change diapers. Fatherhood came natural to him. His love for her is precious and sweet and the kind you hope all children are blessed with. I can still picture his face when I told him we were pregnant. The joy and excitement... The nervousness. And the relief in his tear filled eyes the day Aubrey was born when he knew she was healthy and perfect. Those moments are forever etched in my heart.