When you are a kid, you only really remember the things your mom does for you when you're old enough to actually appreciate them. For example, i remember my mom taking my sister and i shopping for new clothes and spending loads on us when we were younger, but I don't remember the sleepless nights she had with me when I was teething or the toddler tantrums. Now I am a mom myself, I can appreciate things from another perspective. I am now the one experiencing sleepless nights, excessively stinky nappy changes, laundry up to my neck and a copious amount of Disney Junior! Although I don't deal with these things to gain any form of recognition, it is always nice to feel appreciated and loved for doing what you do...and a gummy smile from Dexter always helps soften the blow when I've just been peed on!
My day started on Saturday night really! I had struggled through a really rough night with Dexter on Friday and he had (generously) allowed me to have 3 hours sleep. As you can imagine, by the time Lee finished work on Saturday afternoon, I was that tired i felt physically sick! (Have you ever been that tired? Worst.Feeling.Ever) We had to cancel plans with friends and stay in so that we could catch up on some much needed shut eye. After a three hour nap, we had some dinner, watched a bit of Saturday night telly and went back to bed! Lee then offered to get up with Dexter in the night so that I could actually have a full nights sleep. If there are any dads out there with young babies who are trying to stay in their partners good books, offering to get up in the night is absolutely the best thing you can possibly do! I so appreciated being able to sleep, knowing Dexter was in good hands.
In the morning, i opened my eyes to hear Dexter doing his usual sing song in baby language while occasionally swatting at his cot mobile. Lee got Dexter dressed and handed him to me for my very first Mother's Day cuddle with my baby. I then spotted the awesome little vest he was wearing!
I have to admit, I had to choke back a few tears as Dexter grinned at me while sporting this lovely, thoughtful gift. It was as if he was my special little present. Really, in a lot of ways he is! I know you're not meant to tell people, but Dexter was what I wished for when I blew out the candles on my 24th birthday cake. After suffering a miscarriage and trying for a year to get pregnant again to no avail, I suppose I thought making a wish was a long shot...but a shot all the same. So I closed my eyes tightly and wished that Lee and I would have our very own baby by the end of the year. And 25 days later, I was holding a positive pregnancy test! Since my wish came true, I don't think divulging that information will do much damage!
So anyway, after my little man had revealed his ootd, Lee and I went downstairs to give my mom her Mother's Day presents. We bought her a box of fudge, Rod Stewarts autobiography (not our cup of tea, but she was chuffed!) and a photo frame with pictures of Dexter in it. Lee then popped out to macdonalds to buy us all a breakfast!
After brekkie, I went off to have a nice bath before My sister, nieces and nephew arrived! As you can see, Lili and I attempted a few nice pictures before giving up altogether and pulling rather unattractive faces!
As did Jazmine and i...
Loving the sleeping photobomb from Dexter there!
After watching 'Cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2' (there was nothing else on sky movies that we hadn't seen), we ordered an Indian and had a lovely restful dinner, with the kitchen being a mommy free zone! Here are a few more snaps of the day-
Me attempting to take pictures with a tired and teething baby, not the easiest thing in the world to do!
...and finally my Rose and Lilly boquet (my favourite flowers), my Taylor Swift cd (because I have become obsessed with blank space...and have secretly loved her for years) and my yummy thorntons chocolates (which Lee and I ate later on in the evening while tucked up in bed catching up on Ibiza weekender!)
Now, on a more serious note. Although, like i said at the beginning of this post, I am extremely lucky to be celebrating Mother's Day not only with my own mother but also as a mother, it doesn't mean there isn't still a hint of sadness behind all of the celebrating. Looking around the room yesterday, I couldn't help but think of my Grandma. Growing up, i only ever had one living Grandma as my other grandparents passed away years before I was born, so she really was my only chance at having that sort of figure in my life. I remember lots of things about her, mostly silly things as she loved a laugh. I remember making fun of her because she couldn't reach the biscuits on the top shelf of the kitchen cupboard, how she was always on a diet so she had a huge bag of walkers lights in the corner of the living room, how she took the time to teach me and my cousins how to play card games and board games, how i would go into town with her on the bus then realise halfway through shopping that she was still wearing her slippers, how she would always make sure she had a tin of pea and ham soup in her cupboard for me because it was my favourite when I was little, how she would give me glasses of coke and jelly tots even though the E numbers made me hyper, how she would be up at 5am everyday because she fancied baking cakes and doing the washing ridiculously early and how she smelled. God, I miss her smell. I used to cuddle her and never want to let her go, and now I wish i didn't. Trust me, if I'd known the last time i would ever see her would be exactly that, the last time, I would have cuddled her tighter than ever and told her just how much i really loved her. She always was, always has been and always will be such an important influence in my life. I used to look out of the back window of the car as we were driving away from her house and wave to her until she was totally out of sight. I can still see her now, her cardigan sleeve bulging slightly from where she had stuffed a tissue earlier, her infamous slippers adorning her tiny size 4 feet. I sometimes see Dexter looking around the room, then i catch him smiling at, well, nothing. I could be wrong, but I always imagine it's my Grandma kneeling down talking to him and smiling her lovely warm smile. So please, I beg you, go and see your grandma. Hug her tight and tell her how much you love her and appreciate her. Tell her how happy she has made you. Tell her how you adore her with every ounce of your being. Because one day you will be me. Not even able to look at photos of her without your eyes brimming with tears. I love you Grandma Xxxx
Until next time,
Laura Xxx
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