I am done breastfeeding.   

I have been pregnant and/or breastfeeding since February 2010.  For the last 2.5 years, my body was either making a baby, feeding a baby or both.  I'm not going to lie, it's a weird feeling.  

I thought I would be jumping for joy. I thought I would be excited for the freedom to have a glass of wine, leave the house without having to rush home to feed a baby or simply just to have my body to myself.

But, that's not the case.  I feel quite sad, like I just lost a little bit of my purpose.  

Obviously, my girls are still here and need me and will probably wake from their naps before I finish this post.  Even though it can seem stressful in the moment, it's nice to feel needed.

Don't get me wrong, I am terribly excited to go to Belize (without kids) on a romantic getaway with my husband next month.  It will be AMAZING!

But, I'm still sad when I look at my girls and realize that they need me just a little less each day.

 

I don't think one can fully understand the love a mother has for her children until you are a mother.

I just want to show everyone every little thing they do because I think it is so amazing.

These years are so busy, exhausting, draining and humbling.

But so very special at the same time.

I love being a mom...it is truly the best job!

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I could write a hundred words to describe this girl, but I think these pictures say enough...

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For the letter n, we mostly worked on numbers.  Mia has been really good at counting for awhile now but lately we have been working on one to one correspondence and number identification.  

We love the book Fancy Nancy! It is such a sweet story about a little girl who loves everything fancy (the book also teaches great vocabulary words) and teaches her family how to be fancy. It is an innocent story that is toddler appropriate. The Best Nest is a cute story as well.  It's a little long but it kept Mia's interest. One warning...the book does use the word "hate", which we don't use in our house so I simply said, "don't like" instead.

N is for Numbers

These are all great counting books (my mom got most of them for us through Scholastic).  The board books on the right are perfect counting books for babies and young toddlers.

I found some number stickers in my old scrapbook collection and we added them to our Nn poster.

Link to Nn printable

This was great for fine motor practice and number identification.

We then played this Go Fish game that Mia got from her Great Grandparents for her birthday.  This is a  perfect game for toddlers and preschoolers that works on color and number recognition.  Plus, the fishing pole actually works and is easy to use!!

This next project was inspired by the book, 1,2,3 To The Zoo by Eric Carle.  We created a train with animals like the train in the book (except we didn't use zoo animals).

Supplies for train cars: 5 rectangles (any color), black paper cut into 10 circles to make wheels (not pictured) animal die cuts or animal stickers, glue stick and marker

Write the numbers 1-5 on the rectangles.

Let your toddler glue the animals to the train car. Help them count out the animals to match the corresponding number.

While your child is gluing, cut out the shapes to make the front of the train.

 Proudly display on the wall!

N is for Noah's Ark

We read the story of Noah in our Toddler Bible. Then, the girls colored the ark and stuck foam animals on it.

N is for Noodles

I made some spaghetti noodles and put them on a plate for Mia to paint with.  I thought she would have loved this but she ended up eating more noodles than painting (I think she was hungry for dinner).  : )

Up next week...Rr

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These two are getting closer and closer everyday.    

I'm not going to lie, we also deal with a lot of fighting. 

Naomi is now getting old enough to fight back and defend herself, which makes things a little easier.

But, they really do love each other

and love being around each other.

Even though some days are a lot of work, I'm so glad we had them so close together.

I know their relationship will have its ups and downs

but I think there will be more ups.

Link to a sister post from September...My Girls

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Spring commencement was this weekend.  Joe decided to walk and the girls and I went to cheer him on.  Joe's brother, Mike, and his Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim also came, which meant a lot to all of us.

I really am so proud of Joe, not only for completing the program, but having the courage to start it.  He knew it wasn't going to be easy and he wasn't even sure if he would get into the Executive program but that didn't stop him.

That's one of the many things I love about my husband, even if he feels fear, he doesn't show it or let it get in the way.  

I love that his perseverance is being seen by our daughters.  I want them to understand that one must work hard to be successful and that accomplishing goals is not always easy.

When Joe was in school, it was hard for all of us.  But as I've said before, good things are hard.

We are finally getting back on track.  These past couple of weeks we have really enjoyed each other and have had a lot of fun spending time as a family.  

And, my girls might have been the best behaved kids at graduation (probably because their awesome mom was prepared with snack, toys, dinner, etc..) ; )

Mia cheered so loudly when her daddy walked across the stage.  I love that she could watch him and feel proud, even if she didn't fully understand what was going on.

I am also motivated by Joe's success.  I'm trying to turn some dreams of mine into a reality.  It's really easy for me to dream and talk but not always to do.

My husband is a doer

and not only does he get things done, he does them well.

I couldn't be more proud.

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