my new best friend, joy, and other stuff

i read this really great book over the weekend by melanie shankle called sparkly green earrings. it’s a memoir by a down to earth, honest, hilarious momma. i loved it. i finished it in two days. that is quite a feat for me as i don’t ever read. i think i was scarred as a child because i struggled with reading comprehension so much and if it weren’t for the patience and expertise of my amazing mother (who just so happened to be a reading recovery teacher), i don’t think i would have ever recovered 🙂 this book was easy to read and i felt as though melanie took my exact thoughts on life and motherhood and put them into her book. pretty much i want to be her best friend, that’s how much i loved reading her words. i highly recommend this book.

we just got back from a family trip to port aransas. oh i don’t think there is a greater joy than seeing your child light up with excitement about something. gracie loved the beach, she loved the attention, she loved playing with cousins, she loved getting to stay up at night, she loved the fireworks, she loved the snacks…i mean pure joy. this child brings me to tears on a daily basis mostly because of the hilarity that comes out of her mouth, her imagination and her love for talking. she is something else. gracie thrives on routine and this trip definitely threw a wrench in that but i tried my best to help her out with some regularity…sleep was a struggle, as she took the opportunity to get out of bed and sneakily get into trouble in her “new” room at the condo so i decided to lay down with her at nap/bedtimes until she fell asleep. this is a big deal because the last time she fell asleep in my arms was when she was a newborn. we focused hard on “sleep training” early on because we knew we were dealing with a crazy person on our hands 🙂 and we always put her to bed awake so she could learn how to soothe herself to sleep (a very valuable tool), fast forward to age three and she loves her alone wind down time in bed to sing at the top of her lungs,  read books to herself, or boss her stuffed animals around. she doesn’t cuddle. or sit still. ever. well this weekend was different, i forced snuggle time on her pretty much to restrain her to her bedroom until she fell asleep. it was a sweet time for me. there’s something amazing about watching a child melt into sleep. to pray over them and wish that their joyous daytime adventures would transition into magical nighttime dreams. one of my favorite things that gracie says before she goes to bed is “sweet dreams come true.” oh that’s my wildest hope for her, always. that her dreams will come true. all of them. 

here’s a family photo before we become a family of four. we are beyond excited to welcome our sweet and calm 🙂 little guy in late september.