Blow-Outs And Baths

Okay.

Since having kids, I have had a few occasions where poop has leaked out of the diaper.  That's it.  Just  a simple leak that maybe spread an inch up the back of the diaper and onto the shirt.  In those stinky situations, I have cut the clothes off the kids and thrown them away.  It's not worth trying to get the clothes up over their heads without getting poo in their hair and it's not worth trying to work on the stain that might be left.

Well...this morning...we got to experience our first real blow-out.  And mind you, I don't make time in the mornings for blow-outs and baths!

Last night, Mason cried and cried and cried.  He's not the crying type of baby, so something was not right.  It was a 'hurt' cry.  I blamed his teeth.

Well, he must have had an upset belly.

When I walked into his room this morning, the stench was horrendous.  It's been 11.5 hours since I woke him up and I can still smell and taste the mess.  I peeked my head over his bed, and the boy was laying in poop.  Poop was everywhere, all the way through to the mattress.  He had poop in his hair, poop in his ears, poop covering his back...Poop was everywhere. 

I vomited up in my mouth just a little bit while Kevin stripped him down.  I put Mason in the bathtub and started scrubbing away.  He must have exploded at the beginning of the night, because the poop was hard and crusted.  I had to scrub and scrub and scrub.  I almost scrubbed him raw.  The entire time I'm cleaning him up, Makayla was gently saying "It's okay bubby.  You're okay".  I guess since I was in a little shock from our first real blow-out, Makayla had to mother Mason.  I cleaned, she soothed.  We made a good team.

Five minutes later, I had a fresh clean baby.  Powdered up and lotioned.  Sheets, blankets, and jammies were in the washer and I was still trying to catch a breath of fresh air.  I threw open the windows, asked Mason if he felt better, and he laughed. 

What a way to start my morning. 

Prayers

A Son's Prayer

"Dear God,

Make me the kind of man my daddy is."

A Father's Prayer

"Dear God,

Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be."

My Student And The Corn Maze

Right now, I'm laying in bed.  Lifetime Movie Network is on and Makayla is snuggled in close to me, snacking away on kettle corn, chex mix, and pretzel balls.  The girl loves to snack and she's this close to dozing off. 

While we're all cozy in our warm bed, it's a different story outside.

It's cooler with wind and a cold, autumn rain.  A part of me doesn't really care for nights like this, but another part of me loves a night like this...every once in awhile...during the fall season.  It's a perfect excuse to heat up the house, put jammies on early, eat a hot bowl of chili or soup, and call it an early night - to sit in the house, which we rarely do, and listen to the rain fall and the leaves blow.  Tonight, I love this weather.  And after Makayla's preschool open house, we took a drive around town to look for "Halloween" (yes, we're already looking around for Halloween decorations) and went home to enjoy this "fallish" weather from the inside of our warm home.

I love how Makayla has embraced her new role as 'student'.  She loves going to school and she loves learning.  She looks so forward to going to school and I look so forward to seeing her get excited to go to school.  Tonight, we had the opportunity for Makayla to take us to her classroom and for her to show us all of her crafts and artwork she has done over the past month.  Grandma and Grandpa Allen joined us in the open house and Makayla loved every second of us being at school with her.  She showed us the owl she made, the squirrel she colored, the stained glass she created, and we looked at her and  her classmates "All About Me" posters.  We did a cake walk and won cupcakes and we bought a couple of books at the book fair.  Makayla has done many activities in school which include bringing in her favorite colored apple, wearing the color red and bringing in a red toy (her Clifford dog), and bringing in three things that can be found outside that God made (a rock, a leaf, an orange flower).  She gets to check out a book from the 'library' once a week and by doing so, has discovered a new favorite book "Max and Ruby".  She loves school and I hope her love for it continues to grow throughout the years.

*On a different note, we got to experience something for the first time over the weekend - A Corn Maze.

 We went with a great group of friends. 

...and we all have kids that I hope will grow up together in close friendship.

It was a great setting. 
The sun was setting and we sat around the bonfire outside of the maze eating hotdogs, brats, and ribbon fries.

When supper was done, we herded into the maze.  

It was getting dark and I was nervous.

There's something about tall corn stalks - at night - not knowing where I'm at or where I'm going.

I was nervous.

Of course, our group got divided.

Not once, but twice.

The second time, I was left alone...

with Makayla...

She had no shoes...

I had no cell phone...

I had to carry Makayla due to no shoes (WHERE were her shoes?...I have no idea!)

I had no light...

I had no map...

I began to have a panic attack.

The tall corn stalks were closing in on me and the sky was becoming pitch black.

...

...

I was this close to yelling out.  I'm not sure what I was going to yell out, but I needed help.  And I needed help now.

...

Eventually, we got paired up with a few people from our group and some how made our way out. 

It really was a fun time, regardless of our separation from the group, and I hope I didn't scar or scare Makayla for the rest of her life from corn mazes!

...And Yet, Another Baby

Every Thursday morning, before Makayla goes to school, Daddy takes her out to breakfast. 

Just the two of them.

Well, this week, I got to join them for breakfast at the hospital.

Makayla loves the hospital.

It's where she works (she even has "work" shoes), it's where sick people go, it's where people have babies, it's where mommy takes pictures. 

Ask her, and on any given day, she'll tell you that she works at the hospital...the new hospital, to be exact.

She loves my work, her work - the hospital.

Makayla was super excited to eat breakfast at work this morning, and she hummed all the way through the lobby and down the halls on our way to the cafe.   When we got there, we ordered our breakfast, filled our cups with coffee and ice water, and stuck a straw in our milk carton.  We ordered omelets, scrambled eggs, bacon, and cinnamon and sugar toast. 

As we sat down to eat, Makayla had to pee.

Of course, she did.

She has to visit and familiarize herself with every bathroom we pass.

We made our way to the bathrooms, talking all along the way about the sick people sleeping and how they might get mad if we wake them up and questioning about every person we passed in the halls if they were here to have a baby.

...I helped Makayla up on to the potty.

...and she sat there ever so quietly.  When I looked up at her, her brows were furrowed and she seemed to be concentrating while she pushing around on her belly.  Worried, I asked her if she was okay.  She quietly, but very seriously, said...

"Yes.  I'm trying to have a baby."

I quickly laughed and told her that she didn't need to have a baby, that she's just a little girl.  She giggled, threw her head back, and said in her silly sweet voice "I knooooow"!

Let's go eat breakfast. 

Rough Night, Rotten Kids

Tonight, my kids were rotten.

...even after a trip to the pumpkin patch, or in Makayla's words - the pumpkin festival, decorating the yard for the fall season, popsicles, and macaroni and cheese...

They were still rotten!

But it's not fair for me to just say they were rotten only tonight, because Makayla has been rotting for the past two weeks.  Mason, on the other hand, was just having a bad night...and we're all entitled to those every once in awhile.  I'm just not used to dealing with rotten babies.

Look at her.

Attitude.

Pursed lips.

Thinks she's funny.

Broken listening ears.

...but she's still beautiful. And with these mismatched jammies, it's hard to let my smile fade away. 

Look at him.

Mini Dennis the Menace.

Stained cheeks and shirt.

Crazy breathing through his nose.

...but he's still beautiful.  And with those big cheeks and blue eyes, it's impossible not to smile at him.

It's been a rough night...

and I'm glad the kids are sound asleep in their beds.

After having a long talk with Makayla about her behavior and how it's not going to be accepted, Kevin tucked her in to bed and I gave her butterfly kisses.  She giggled and said she was going to be a 'doog' girl.  We'll see what tomorrow brings, though...

Hopefully this phase will not last too long.

In the meantime, here's a few snippets of what makes Makayla and Mason so amazing.

....................................................................

 Holding her purse in the air Makayla said “Say 'How’d you zip this up'”

Daddy: How’d you zip that up?
Makayla: Um, with my hands.

.................................................................

Makayla: Mom, my eyes are yellow.

Me: What?

Makayla: The sun is making my eyes yellow.

...........................................................................

Makayla and Mason have developed a new game where they crawl all around the house and chase each other.  They both laugh so hard, it gets to the point that Mason runs out of breath, where I'm pretty sure his lips are turning purple and numb.  I love it.  I love that they are playing with each other and I love to hear them laughing...especially that they are making their own laughter.  It's yet another reminder why I'm so thankful that they have each other. 

...............................................................................

I made a vow near the beginning of Summer (or maybe it was Spring) that I was going to teach Makayla to sing the song "Sweet Caroline".  Well...we're almost there.  It's her favorite song, she can sing this much ~

Hands, touching hands
Reaching out, touching me
Touching you

Sweet Caroline
Good times never
Seemed so good

Bum Bum Bum

 ~and picks up bits and pieces throughout the rest of the song, and asks to hear it every single time we get in the car.  BUT - the best part is, she has Mason loving the song just as much as she does!

When I turn that song on, the kids go crazy.  Mason claps his hands and waves his arms in the air while Makayla sings it and they go back and forth with their laughter.  It's something that I think we all look forward to every day.  Sweet Caroline.

.....................................................................

So, I have beautiful, smart babies who can make me smile more than anything else on this earth...even when Makayla has forgotten how to listen and Mason is in a bad mood.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware. The tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered around the house, the piles and piles of laundry lying around to be tackled, will disappear all too soon. And, you will, to your surprise, miss them profoundly.
President Thomas S. Monson

A No Camera Weekend

So...I thought I would try to go a whole weekend without my camera in hand. 

It was hard.  Really hard.

When I kiss Mason's chubby cheek and tuck his blond hair behind his ear, I just want to capture that moment and keep it forever - to bottle up this feeling, the feel of his cheek against my lips, the sound of his giggles. 

When I take Makayla out of the bath and wrap her up like a 'burrito' and give her 'crazy hair',  I just want to capture that moment and keep it forever - to bottle up this feeling, the smell of her clean skin, the sound of her tiny voice as she giggles inside her warm towel.

I’m afraid that these feelings will slip away, so I use pictures and videos, in hopes to always remember a piece of these days.  I know that pictures and videos are missing the weight of my baby in my arms and the feeling of Mason's five little fingers wrapped around my one and the smell of Makayla's skin...but with my camera, I can capture my feelings forever.  I have something to look back to and something to remind me of days gone by.

Why I went an entire weekend without my camera, I'm not sure.  So, without any visuals - this is how our big, busy weekend went:

Mason's new carseat.  Mason gets to turn around like his big sister and face forward!  He gets to see all that's coming and not all that's passed.  I know this may not seem like a big deal, but it is so fun and so funny to see his reaction to a different view.  A good time to have my camera - a smiling big boy who gets to face forward for the first time.  He thinks he's big stuff.

Weiner roast with good friends.  BUT (big. huge. but.) not only was it a weiner roast, but it was a magnificent announcement of an engagement.  Our best friend Mike finally proposed to his amazing girlfriend last week...and they announced it to us Friday night around the fire.  A good time to have my camera - smiles, bling, happiness, friends.

Mason's FIRST birthday.  Mason turned ONE this weekend!  He's a big boy!  You can read my special letter to him  HERE if you haven't already.  A good time to have my camera - a birthday boy (don't worry, we did do video taping of him on his birthday)

Family Reunion.  We spent a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at the park, frying fish, and visiting with family.  A good time to have my camera - family, lots of family, happiness, story telling.

Crinkle cut fries and herb mayo dip.  Oh My Goodness!  In our busy schedule, we did take time to drop by Curry's Weiners (Uncle Andy's restaurant) to snack on his one day special of crinkle cut fries that I LOVE to dip in their herb mayo dip. Click HERE to virtually visit the restaurant. It really was a highlight of my weekend.  It's the small things...

A baptism.  Baby Evan was baptized!!  Although we weren't able to attend his baptism, we got to celebrate with him and his family afterwards.  A good time to have my camera - capture a picture of the beautiful baby boy on his special day.

Family pictures.  We had family pictures taken this weekend with Jonae Cheger.  You can click on her name to check out her website.  She does a fantastic job!  Photographing a 1 year old and a 3 year old is not an easy task, but she does great.  I can't wait to see the pictures, and I will definitely share them once I get them!

Shopping.  Since we're leaving on vacation in less than two months, I had every intention to go shopping for 'vacation' clothes.  But since I hate shopping for myself, I of course ended up doing more shopping for the kids than I did myself.  No vacation clothes.  Oh well. 

A walk.  It was a great fall evening and we couldn't let it pass without enjoying a walk.  It was overcast, warm (around 65 degrees), slightly windy, spitting rain, and leaves were rustling down the road. That may now sound great, but it was.  It really was.  We soaked in the beginning of this season with a walk. 

...and we've ended our weekend with early baths and pizza. 

Mason is 'practicing' walking between Kevin and I...but no worries!!  Makayla's right in the middle of it, practicing her walking, too!

To Mason

Mason,

One year ago today, I was laying in bed - eating hundreds of animals crackers and NOT sleeping.  For the next day, I would be meeting you. 

For you created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:13-14

Oh, how we were so excited to finally see you, hold you, meet you - a gift to us, from God.  We were so ___________  (no words are able to describe what we were feeling) for you to join our family, for you to be our son, for you to be Makayla's baby brother.  There was no way I was sleeping on this night,  one year ago.

When I think, say, or hear "Mason", you want to know what comes to mind?...

Your Smile.  I know I've talked about it before and written about it before because it is electrifying.  Your smile touches my soul.  It's deep, it's beautiful, super contagious, and starts with your eyes.  I love your smile.

Your Contentment.  You are so laid back and easy going - a go-with-the-flow type of boy.  You make life easy. 

Your Happiness.  Period.

Your Appetite. You love your food.  Although it doesn't show in your size, you would eat 24/7 if we let you.  There's not a thing you wouldn't put in your mouth (except spinach).  Feeding you is fun.

Your Lessons. All the things you teach me.  You've taught me that watching you sleep is one of the most important things that I could do on any given night.  Simple but true.  Another important thing you've taught me is that the amount of love that the heart can hold is endless...



There are several small and precious moments in the day when it is just the two of us and I find myself staring at you in awe. You are amazing.  You are perfect.  You are impossibly tender and loving. You are a joy. You are delicious and happy and above all, you are a true blessing.

I treasure my days with you and I am so incredibly grateful for you.

I can't imagine my world without you, Mason.  And as I sit hear with my eyes burning with tears at the thought of my baby boy growing up, I am able to smile at all that we have and all that we are. 

My heart could explode.

Happy First Birthday, Mason Allen Curry!

With a heart simply overflowing with love,

Mommy

Baby In Bounce House

So, from all the past blogs of Makayla's pretend pregnancies... (and I'm sure there are more that mention her baby)

Pretend Pregnancy

Toes, Art, and Baby

Hearing The Babies Heartbeat For The First Time

Giving Birth In The Bathtub

...I think everybody is aware of Makayla's wild, and sometimes scary, imagination...and now her newest imaginary play - giving birth.  After last weekend's birthing session, though, I'm beginning to wonder if this is the point I need to start worrying.

After the birthday party last weekend, we were sitting around the campfire with Mike and Nicole.  Mason was in bed and Makayla was playing in the "jumpy".  Makayla yelled out for 'Tole to come in the bounce house.  She was saying that she needed more light and not knowing what was going on, we shone a light in on her.  When Nicole got into the bounce house, Makayla proceeded to shove a baby up her shirt, layed down, and covered herself up with a blanket. 

Then she informed Nicole that we needed a Doctor.  At that point, Nicole yelled for us.  Makayla was "pushing" and Mike and 'Tole were helping her have her baby.

Of course, I was taking pictures and Kevin was videotaping.  How could we not videotape this?!  It will be great when Makayla sits down one day to watch this!

Within minutes, the baby came out and Makayla kissed her, held her, and named her Addy.

Then it was all over.

We were onto something new to play.

A Great Big Birthday Party

Not a whole lot has been going on this past week except school, work, playing, running non-stop, having fun...
and having a great big birthday party!!

Saturday was a day filled with ~

Lots of sweet laughter, Delicious brisket that daddy smoked, Beautiful Queens of the castle, Football deviled eggs, Mini balloons, 60 cupcakes, Hours of jumping in the "jumpy", Babies being birthed (which will make for a great blog...coming soon), Tailgating, Chaos during gift opening, Silly string fight, Pretty tutus and fancy panties, Bubble gum, Cozy firepit, and lots of love and happiness!!



Making this short and sweet, here are some great pictures that captured our day wonderfully!

Mason and mommy!

The cute "football" deviled eggs!

Mason enjoying his birthday cake!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Makayla.  Notice that there is only one candle lit - She had already sung "Happy Birthday" to herself and blew her candles out before we were ready.  She loves it so much, she couldn't help herself!

The aftermath of the Silly String fight!

...and of course, all of the wonderful friends and family who made this day special for Makayla and Mason.

We have great family.

We have great friends.

We are so blessed.

We are so lucky to have friends and family that love and support us. 
Thank you for making memories with us and making Makayla and Mason's day so special.

Having so many people to love and have love us, is what makes life so good!

Now, all that's left is the day my Mason turns ONE.  A whole year has almost come and gone.

(sigh)

The Day Makayla Turned Three

September 4th - Makayla turned THREE years old!

One of Makayla's favorite songs is "Happy Birthday".  She loves to sing that song, and seems to love it even more when she is singing it for herself!  We sang Happy Birthday, Makayla blew out her three candles, and she clapped and grinned from ear to ear when the smoke cleared.

Happy Birthday!

It was a perfect day.  The temperatures were perfect in the mid 70's and the sun was shining all day long.  Makayla and Mason spent most of Makayla's birthday outside playing.  Running around, mowing the lawn with the bubble mower, playing on the swingset, walking to the park, and waiting for the ice cream truck as pictured below.

It was a perfet day.

Below is a picture of Makayla's tree.  When Makayla was born, Connie (a co-worker) bought us a tree.  It's Makayla's Tree and every year we take a picture with Makayla by her tree. 

It was a perfect day.

Makayla got to open presents from mommy and daddy, and Grandma and Grandpa Allen.

She got some fun toys, but I think her favorites of the day include her bubble gum machine and Flarp.

My baby girl is obsessed with gum, and that's saying it lightly.

Read Look What I Found or Lake Arlan  for a couple more stories about her gum.

She LOVES her bum machine!

...and then Grandma Allen got her Flarp.  Makayla once had Flarp, but I had to throw it away.  Click Makayla's Moments This Week to find out why...

But, I'm glad that the Flarp is back because it provides us hours of entertainment and laughter.  It's a great toy that makes "farting" sounds and Makayla will squish it and push it to make a fart sound and then we have to react, which in turn *CrAcKs* her up.  It's gotten to the point that Mason *CrAcKs* up just as hard and just as loud as Makayla.  It's the funniest thing ever...to hear Makayla and Mason crack up and cackle so hard together, to the point that I'm pretty sure Mason's lips go numb. 

Thank you Flarp.  Hopefully, now that Makayla is three, I won't find her in her room licking you.

Mason's FIRST birthday is in 11 short days, but in the meantime, we're going to have a big birthday party for our two little munchkins with our friends and family next weekend.  We're looking forward to a great night with family and friends - playing, eating, visiting, jumping, laughing, singing Happy Birthday, and making memories. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Six Flags

A few months before Makayla turned two, we took her to Six Flags. 

It was a trip she never forgot and talked about continuously throughout this past year.  Her first trip to Six Flags is where she learned of her love for rides; learned of her fear of big, tall, furry characters that walk around and want to give you a high five or shake your hand; and learned to raise her arms up in the air when she's going around the track or flying up and down on a ride.  In fact, since her first trip to Six Flags, almost every time we help her take her shirt off, we say "Six Flags" - her arms instantly go up and the shirt slides over her head and up her arms. 

Because Makayla talked about going back to Six Flags all year, we thought it would fun to surprise her for her birthday.  So - we packed up, had a slumber party at Aunt Nina's house, and played at Six Flags all day long. 

We went on September 3rd, a day before she turned 3.  The temperature was 103 degrees, the food was delicious, the lines were short (mostly non-existant), the drinks were free refills and thirst quenching, and the water park (Hurricane Harbor) was a lifesaver!

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day -



As most of you know, Makayla has a love for Torn on the Tob...and I think her brother is going to share in this love.  We got Makayla her corn on the cob and Mason went berserk.  He wanted that corn.  He whined for that corn.  He couldn't take his eyes off of that corn.  Makayla raised her corn high in the air and kept saying "Bub, you can't have this.  You're too little."  Finally - when I said that Mason could taste it, she was soooo excited to share it with him and soooo happy to be the one to make Mason happy.  ...and yes, he loved the corn. 

We took Makayla on Thunder River - a boat ride that takes you through rapids, bumps you into boulders, and gets you soaking wet.  Keeping in mind that I know Makayla doesn't really like to be splashed, I still thought that she would enjoy the ride.  Especially, if she saw mommy and daddy having lots of fun.  Well...

She did not like the ride.  When she saw the rapids ahead of us, the fear set in.  We also happened to be on a boat with some young teenage girls who had blood curdling screams every time a drop of water went into our boat.  Their screams did not help ease Makayla's fear. 

Even though she was scared, she still had daddy's hand to hold.  And she knows that she's always safe with daddy.  He was right there to help her get through the ride. 

Luckily, we were able to cool down at the water park for a couple of hours.  This is Aunt Nina going down a water slide.  For this particular water slide, it was important to keep your legs crossed while you went down -buuut, Kristina didn't hear that part of the rules, and kept her legs spread the entire time.  This picture definitely makes me laugh.  It makes me laugh so hard.  I can feel it - I can feel the pressure and spray of the water.  I can feel the wedgie.

One last picture I want to share is this one -

Like mother, like daughter.

I can't even tell you what Makayla and I were looking at, but obviously we were looking at the same thing and having the same reaction.

Huh?!

We are too much alike...!

Thank you, Aunt Nina for having fun with us at Six Flags!! 

Mason's Veins

What's so special about this picture?...

On the left side of his chest - directly above his heart...

...his veins pop so bright through his fair skin, but if you look closely, you will see that his veins make the shape of a heart.

It's neat, it makes me smile, and I find myself captivated by it. 

It's like his heart is shining through...

I know, I know - This is probably something that only I can find amusing because I'm his mom and he's my son (and maybe Kevin and I are the only ones that can see it) - but, I think it's too cool that Mason's veins are in the shape of a heart, directly above his beating heart on the inside.  In some strange way, it's symbolic for me!

...and besides sharing this story about his heart, I'm also going to share a story about when I got to watch Mason sleep.

The other night when we had a slumber party at Aunt Nina's house everybody was spread out to sleep.  Mason was in Kristina's bed, Kevin was in the spare bed, and Kristina and Makayla were on the couch.  When it was time for me to go to sleep, I crawled into bed with Mason. 

Normally, this is what I see...

...My baby boy sound asleep behind the crib bars.  When I peek in on him at night, I always wish I could jump in bed with him for a few minutes to cuddle him and watch him sleep.

Well...I did just that at Aunt Nina's house.  I crawled into bed with him for the night.  Of course, when I got in bed, I slightly startled him.  He slowly opened his eyes, while I quickly closed mine before we made eye contact (leaving them cracked just a bit to watch him).  He sleepily opened his eyes, saw me, then closed his eyes tight again.  He grinned.

I know he grinned because he knew I was there beside him. 

For the next 30-40 minutes, I watched Mason sleep by the glow of my phone.  It was so peaceful and I am still amazed at how many times he smiled in just the short amount of time I was watching him. 

Holding his hand, feeling his breath on my face, and watching him smile was wonderful and not something I get to do every night.

I'm lucky. I'm lucky that Mason is mine.

Blue veined heart and all!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Baby Girl

Dear Makayla,

You have shown me that life passes so quickly.  I don't want to waste a single moment of this time that I've been given with you.

From a few weeks old...

...to a year old,

...to two years old

 

...and tomorrow, you'll be three.

My baby girl will be three.

You have taught me what it means to be a mother. 

You have taught me to be patient, to be silly, to be tender, to be vulnerable.

You have taught me about life -  how to find the beauty in everything. 

You have reminded me to enjoy the little things in this life.

You are stunning.

You are pure magic.

You are loving and kind. 

You are funny, smart, brave, thoughtful, and very compassionate.

When you reach for my hand or ask me to read you a book or want me to play with you, I would drop anything to be with you.  Nothing is more important than those moments with you.

I love the sound of your giggles and laughs.

I love that your beautiful blue eyes are always filled with wonderment.

I love that your soft blond hair bounces with curl.

I love that your imagination is huge.

I love to play with you, tickle you, and push you on swings.

I love when you light up when you see me, when you run for me with arms wide open.

I love all of the questions you ask.

I love how much you love your baby brother.

I love every single thing about you.

It's so hard to put into words the love I have for you, but the last three years of my life with you have been the best years of my life.

You are a gift and I thank God for choosing me to be your mother.

You have brought me more joy than I ever dreamed possible.

Happy birthday my sweet Makayla.

You have beautiful things in your future.

Love,

Mommy