For me the Hallmark invented holiday was very nice and I think I get it now.  Mom’s make the world go’ round and they need to be appreciated. I am truly humbled by the amount of friends who took the time to wish me a good first mom’s day. Women reaching out to women. Mom’s identifying with other mom’s and lending support. But it’s a little more than that too. Here is a quote from one of favorite books…

All women are called to mother. And all women are called to give birth. Women give birth to all kinds of things: to books, churches, movements, ideas, creative expressions….We give birth in others by inviting them into deeper realms of healing, to deeper walks with God, to deeper intimacy with Jesus. A woman is not less of a woman because she is not a wife or has not physically borne a child.  The heart and life of a woman is much more vast than that. All women are made in the image of God in that we bring forth life.  When we enter into our world and into the lives of those we love and offer our tender and strong feminine hearts, we cannot help but mother them.  ~Captivating~John & Stacey Eldridge

This quote suggest that every woman should be celebrated for their nurturing hearts and I think I agree. One of my closest friends is a partner in the ownership of a business. I call it her baby. Furthermore, what she does with this business; the leadership, nurturing and genuine hope she shows for her partner, employees and clients comes from the heart. She has a mothering heart. We all know people like this, because according to the quote, all women are made in the image of God…and…God brings forth life. See it? :) I have to laugh a little because it can be so hard to see this quality in every woman. In the same breath, I know so many woman who can’t see how special, capable and admirable they are.

If today has taught me anything, it’s that people, women, and/or mothers need to be told how important they are.

Moving on again…there always has to be a picture, so here is my baby and me from today.

Here is your ingredient list:

1 cup quinoa (cook with 1 cup water and 1 cup chicken broth)

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

3-4  carrots, sliced (after you slice the outside, just keep slicing)

1 red and/or green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch lengths, julienned

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cups mixed vegetables (broccoli florets, snow peas, asparagus, etc.)

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 egg

1 package cooked chicken breast, shredded

2 scallions, chopped

2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce

Optional stuff (the stuff I didn’t have the first time I cooked this and didn’t seem to make that big of a difference when I did):

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Juice of 1/2 lime

2 tsp ground ginger root (or grated fresh ginger)

1 tbsp Rice vinegar

Get your chicken cooking – the easiest way is to boil it in a pot with a little oil and salt for at least 30 minutes.

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and bell pepper, and cook until softened. Add the cooked shredded chicken, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, mixed vegetables, and the black pepper. Cook for 1 minute.

Remove the chicken and vegetables from the pan and set aside. Return the pan to heat, and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the quinoa and egg, and stir-fry to cook the egg, 30 seconds. Return the chicken and vegetables to the pan along with the scallions, cilantro, soy sauce and lime juice. Stir to combine, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute.

Serve hot, or at room temperature.

The only thing cuter than Dylan playing with the water was her being bundled in her monogrammed beach towel and then spending the rest of the day nakey (that would be naked) with a diaper of course. I love nakey babies and they love nakey. So so cute!

Here are some pictures from yesterday…

Enough of the introspection…so what’s new with Little D…

I can’t even count how many teeth she has now. I’m guessing 14-16 of them. This month a new tooth showed up almost every other day. We introduced Cheerios, so yeah…she is obsessed. Dylan likes getting in the shower and instinctively puts her tongue out to catch the water. She pulls up to stand on anything. We learned real quick that a laundry hamper doesn’t support her weight. The window seal is her favorite perch and she started guiding herself up and down the length of the couch. Dylan has learned how to turn on her battery powered toys. She talks more and more saying things like book and baby. She almost has puppy and pretty. The most noticeable development is her copy-cat ability. It’s too funny to see our small one imitating noises, facial expressions and body gestures. Jared coughed into his arm and after careful observation, Dylan lifted her arm to her mouth and coughed…then looked at him and smiled…trying to make him happy.  There is so much more going on in her mind than we know.

Here are some pictures I took of her yesterday.

If your on Pinterest, then you’ve seen all the  crafty and original DIY wreaths out there. When I found this one, I had to try it out!

I finally found the original blog tutorial here: http://pattyschaffer.typepad.com/capture_the_details/2010/03/monday-make-it-spring-baby-grass-wreath.html

When I went shopping for the supplies, all the green eyelash yarn was sold out. By the way, I went to Walmart, Hobby Lobby and Joann’s Fabrics, so I figured everyone in my city made the same wreath. I settled on a multicolor pink dominated eyelash yarn; found some ready-made felt flowers in the Easter section, along with the ‘ribbon’ flowers  and came up with this…

Well, here are some pictures I took of her today on the deck. Yes, she has on knee pads…her knees are bruised so I ordered her some.

There is a scene from the movie Troy between Achilles and his mother, Thetis, where she is giving him advice on his decision to go to Troy. She tells him that if he stays home, he will have a wonderful life and his children will love him, but after his children’s children are gone, his name will be lost forever. However, if he chooses to fight in Troy, his name will be spoken for thousands of years and generations to come.

Here is link to the scene if you wish (Brad Pitt is in it!): http://youtu.be/j0qtVI4ix0U

Well, not to state the obvious, but we know his name…so well that someone named a tendon after him. For Achilles, the price of glory is that He never returns home again.

On the contrary, while growing up, my parents had a picture in their room, with a poem/quote, that read:

A hundred years from now no one will remember
How much money I had in the bank
what kind of car I drove
or what kind of job I had.

But I will be remembered
as someone special
because I made a difference
in the life of a child.

 -Forest Witcraft

It’s my opinion that the world needs heroes, healthy role models and talented people. The observers get a great deal of pleasure and fun out of listening, watching and cheering for our idols. My dad is a crazy man over his college football team. Dylan is captivated by Taylor Swift. I respectfully admire Tim Tebow. The famous and popular have a platform to do so much good.

I don’t mean to overlook the heroes in our schools, police force or our military. The truly brave don’t get much media attention. The people I loved or love most in my life are not popular figures. Their names are not in any books or on the cover of any magazine. I loved Ms. Kemp, my 5^th grade teacher and Ms. Karen, my dance teacher. My aunts where my idols, I love my Nanny and a few friends have believed in me along the way. These people where/are present and steadfast every day to make a difference in my life.  In the generations to come, most names will probably be forgotten. A teacher, a cop, a navy seal are all kinda normal, right? What about a parent? Normal. Conventional. Traditional. Ordinary. Routine. Oh well, I’ll take it.  My ordinary life will have extraordinary moments because I am a mom, a wife, a Christ follower among so many other normal things. My gift to the world and my legacy are in how I raise a little baby, on how I nurture a marriage and reflect my faith. I truly do not care if my name is forgotten in one hundred years.

I know I have over simplified a huge topic and/or a huge fear, however, our life is simple. Jared goes to work every morning. I take care of a baby everyday (and night). We pay our bills, have dinner with friends, mow the lawn, etc. My claim to fame…wait for it…a ‘weather’ picture I took made it on the news!! Anyway, we like our normal routine and our simple all-American, average way of life. I’m good with normal because among other things,  it’s a healthy way to raise a family, have devoted friends and family, and to be happy.

Lastly and to clarify, we don’t confuse our life being simple with the complexities of personality, relationships, culture, environment or beliefs that make up life. But…that is a topic for another day.

Dylan attempting to steal Marley’s bone!

Protecting the bump.

Marley wanting to be close to the two week old Dylan.

Pup company at 5:30am.

Marley plotting the kiss.

Gotcha!

Fast forward to today. Dylan and I went to Walmart to pick up a paper shredder (and I also found some plant pots). She has been sitting in the shopping cart with her cover and knows the pocket where I keep the yogurt melts. Those little melts have a sour punch so I always keep the sippy cup on hand. Usually in my third hand because the other two are pushing the cart and handing Dylan a melt. Oh wait…I don’t have a third hand. That is probably why while picking out a shredder, I absent-mindedly set her cup on the shelf and walked off without it.

“Miss….miss…MISS! Here is your cup.” I looked back to see a Walmart employee walking towards me holding out Dylan’s cup. The employee took a look over my shoulder at Dylan, then shot me a disapproving glare. I was mildly defensive over my forgetfulness of the cup. I turned back to Dylan and the little runt has a plastic garden pot over her head. I also notice she is missing a sock. I don’t know what opened my eyes to all of this, but then I noticed her sweater was covered in green baby food. Her mouth and cheeks had left over prunes. Her hair was sticking out like a scene from Something About Mary and now she was chewing a pot off a shelf from Walmart!! Oh. My. Goodness. No.

It is happening to me.

My baby only has one sock and looks like she got in a food fight with Shrek. It’s not that I don’t have time to keep her in clean clothes and keep her cheeks wiped off. Or even to worry too much about Walmart germs. Having a baby helps me realize what is important. In addition, she looks cute to me all the time. She looks cute covered in poop. Seriously, she does.

I don’t know when I started allowing her out of the house all messy, but it happened. Today. I find it awesome that I didn’t care. I smiled at her because she looked so adorable and she smiled back with a giggle.

Dylan turned 9 Months old today. She had her 9 Month check-up today too.

The stats:  18 pounds (50th percentile) and 29.5 inches long (99th percentile)

The goods news…Dylan’s tear ducts are completely clear, open and no longer blocked. Her head shape and neck issue (torticollis) is also on the up and up! She will probably only have a few more visits with her psychical therapist. We received reassurance that her weight is good considering her fickleness with the bottle, probably because she loves her solid foods. Table foods are next. That’s about it for her appointment.

Here at home, Jared and I have noticed some big developements in Dylan. She has traded in her inch-worm crawl for a very effective military crawl. After a month of offering -and Dylan playing with - puffs and yogurt melts, she is finally putting them in her mouth. After a couple days of chewing her fingers with the puffs, she figured out that a better idea is to pull her fingers out. She effectively puts the sippy cup in her mouth and sometimes lifts it high enough to get anything. Dylan is saying “Da-da” now which thrills Jared of course.  She is better equipped to keep up with dogs, so we are practicing ‘gentle’. We’ve graduated to the highchair in restaurants and the shopping cart seat. Some things are the same…she still loves music, books, being outside and her bath remains her happiest time.

Dylan is showing she has a little temper too. Take away a toy she wants or change her direction and she lets it out…an intense short lived fake cry. I was falling for it at first until one day I just laughed at her and she started laughing and went about her business. For now I’ve got her number.

Jared asked me what felt longer…being pregnant with her or her being ‘out’ here with us. Either way, time is flying by and Dylan is changing so fast. I’m starting to have a hard time with the speed of life. I am so happy she is growing, learning and becoming mobile but I already miss her contentment in just being held for an hour. She actually flipped the pages of her book tonight. It’s just crazy.

Well, off to bed. Dylan still prefers a 6am wake-up.