My sweet Presley Mae...

There's something so special about you lately. I can't quite put my finger on it. But there's just that something. That something when you walk into a room and everyone notices. That something when you smile and everyone stops and stares.

I watch you every day grow into a bigger and bigger girl. I watch you every day and think how proud I am of the little girl you're becoming. I am excited for the woman that you will become someday. I know that someday is far away. And that is just fine with me. Take your precious time. I've got nothing better to do than watch you grow and grow and grow.

There is something so pure about you and your heart. 

And I love it. 

Happy Father's Day...

Happiest of Father's Day to the funniest, coolest, and cutest daddy in the world. 

We love you and are proud of you and all that you do! 

Guys day...

Golf day with the guys. 

The first of many, I'm sure...

A personal post...

I had this post written about 19 months ago. And I never published it. And I was completely ashamed as to my reason for not posting it.

It was an amazingly beautiful day. A day that I will never forget. A day that I want Presley to see later in life. And it almost never happened. And do you know why?

Because of how tired and gross I looked in the picture. That's right. I was thinking about the way I looked and not about the way I felt. How sad is that?

I had just gone through a few hours of some pretty hard labor that started around 4:00 a.m. I had almost missed my window for an epidural and had my face dug into the pillow so that I could block out the intense pain and no one could see my tears. I labored to a 9 with no epidural or pain relief and with the most intense burning in my forearms because I had been gripping the blanket for 2 hours. 

And then the most wonderful baby girl came into the world. And I was so happy. Over the moon kind of happy. 

And when it came time for people to see her, I was concerned with how bad I looked. And told people not to take pictures of me until I could put some make up on. 

Did you hear me? I ALMOST MISSED BEING PHOTOGRAPHED WITH MY DAUGHTER BECAUSE OF HOW BAD I THOUGHT I LOOKED. 

Presley Mae, if you are reading this, I am so sorry that I was unbelievably vain and narcissistic. I am so glad that you can see our first few moments together and share in that joy.

I love you baby girl!

A visit from Kay Kay...

Kay Kay has come to town!!! 

And she will be here all summer. 

And we will be busy scratching things off our summer bucket list...

Dear Presley Mae,

You are getting to be such a big girl. You change a little bit more every day. Get a little bit older every day. Get a little bit more sassy everyday.

You're trying to become Miss Independent. You don't want any help with anything. You turn away help and  just throw a fit when you can't figure something out.

I fall more in love with you every single day. I feel like every day my chest opens a little more than the day before and grows because my love is growing . 

And you go that. You make my love grow. You make my chest open and love spill out.

And for that, sweet Presley, I thank you...

My babies...

Man oh man. My babies are so different. A perfect type of different. But definitely different. 

And I love that. I love that Cash is the sweetest little boy in this whole world. He tells me I'm beautiful every single day. He kisses me and holds my hand in public. He tells me he wants to marry me and give me a shiny ring. He is just the sweetest.

And then he gets tired. 

And then the little devil child comes out. The child that has an attitude. The child that will talk back and stick his tongue out at me. The child that will walk up and hit his sister for absolutely no reason. 

And then there is my Presley girl. She is the biggest light in the room. She smiles and laughs and sings and dances. She hugs and kisses and plays peek-a-boo and watches Frozen.

And then she gets tired. Or hungry.

And then the sassy little diva comes out. The child that will flop down in the floor and do the reverse worm. The child that will scream and yell because she isn't getting her way. The child that will look at you and say, "HEY!" when you spank her bottom. 

But they are my children. And they are perfect. They are my kind of perfect. The have their problems and traits that cause problems and headaches, but they are perfect problems.