Kids are funny little humans. Most of my time with A is spent running around after her making sure she is not getting into something she shouldn't, or hurting herself in any way. Obviously we have so much fun in the process, but a lot of my day is spend a few heart beats above normal as I watch her tackle the world of walking (and falling). Then there are those sweet, tender moments that make spending the last half an hour chasing her around the house, cleaning up water after her tub, picking squished blueberries out of her hair, or gathering toys scattered all over the family room, so much better. Today we had one of those moments.
First, let me remind you that A is in no way a snuggle-bug. Ever since she was born she wanted pretty much nothing to do with being held like a baby. She was way to nosey for that! This little girl was here to see the world and everyone in it. She is the only kid I know who never fell asleep on my husband or I when we were out, simply because she couldn't close her eyes for a second and miss her favorite activity...people watching.
This being said, the theme of our last gym class was hugging. I kid you not when I say I fought a squirming kid, who just wanted to get down and play, into hugging me several times during class when the music would stop and the instructor would say, "let's practice hugging". While the other kids sort of had the idea of going to their mom and putting their arms around her neck, leg, tummy, or whatever else was close to their level, I would chase A across the mat, pick her up as she was whining and kicking, and place her arms around my neck. To say she was not a fan of this was an understatement. On the plus side, she did learn to run pretty quickly that gym class!
Then today it happened. As I was taking A out of her car seat this morning to get her into her stroller for our workout, she threw her tiny little bird arms around my neck, laid her head on my shoulder, and squeezed as she played with my hair. Granted, I nearly dropped her out of pure shock, but once I recovered it was one of the most rewarding moments of my mom-life. Have you read the Jenny McCarthy book about her son Evan, and how all she wanted when he was a baby was for him to be able to say "I love you" back...well today was my I love you from A!
She can do no wrong today, so live it up A!
Here are some pictures from the park, after I recovered from the shock of her hug.
xoxo
Daily Mom
ps...If you need a good beach read, that will instantly make you feel like you know what you are doing as a mom, read this book!
