WHY do I do this to myself?????

Aghhh, it seems like the last week before Christmas is always the same for me. I just get myself involved in so many little projects, or big projects, and I end up crafting till I get a headache! That or we get our family Christmas pictures and I have dark circles under my eyes from late night sewing/hot gluing/painting/staining/etc etc ETC. And this year I took on an unusually large amount of projects because I figured we would save loads if I made most of our gifts this year. Which begs the question, which is more expensive, store bought gifts, or a stay in an asylum????

A little, okay a LOT sad

So I have come to the realization recently that my little girl is just getting to be such a BIG girl. She has decided she is too big to: 1) Cuddle her Mom 2) Let JD or me buckle her car seat 3)Basically have help in any way (eating, drinking, changing, the works)

Here are some pictures of her being a Mom to her little monkey. She got out this blanket and wrapped him all up and kept rubbing the side of his face and tucking him in.

I got out a bottle for her and a spoon with a tupperware bowl, and she went straight to it. She spent probably a half hour taking care of her little "bee bee"

So I guess my biggest problem with the whole thing is I am so conflicted. Everytime she does something like this, I am so proud of her and her grasp of the world around her. She picks up on things so fast and I guess I am doing a good enough job that she wants to pretend to be a mommy. But does she really need to be pretending to be a Mommy now?

She is just getting so SO big, and she is needing me less and less. She even DEMANDS that I leave her alone most of the time. Six months ago I was complaining she was too clingy, and now I would trade a night out at Texas Roadhouse for a night with her just cuddling me.

There is a song by Trace Adkins that the chorus goes like this:

"You're gonna miss this, You're gonna want this back, You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast, These are some good times, So take a good look around, You may not know it now, But you're gonna miss this"

The biggest difference between my life and that song is that I am painfully aware of HOW MUCH I really am going to miss this.

So here I sit, spending precious nap time writing about the daughter that I honestly miss just for the two hours away from her while she sleeps. She is such a perfect, wonderful, absolute joy!And now she's awake, and I can't miss a minute!!!

Little Helper

When we decided to get out all the Christmas Decorations, Morgan was MORE than willing to be our little helper. I'm sure that any of you guys with kids totally understand this, and she has hit this stage of life FULL ON. Well, first she decided the ornaments were balls, and great to throw around the house: Then, once she saw her Mom and Dad hanging them on the tree, she caught on and had to do it all on her own!
So I feel two ways about this next picture, I either think it is so gross because she ate a blue candy cane and her mouth is stained from it, or I break into a huge grin because her smile is just so contagious!

Once the tote was empty, she decided it looked like a good place for a nap. She grabbed her "bubby" (blanket) and tossed it in there and then proceded to climb in and say "Ni, Ni Mom. Ni, Ni Dad" (night night) She didn't actually go to sleep in there, but JD and I got to enjoy a good five minutes of her pretending to be that way!