A day in the life of Moonbeam

Moonbeam

Moonbeam is almost 16 months old and today, I want to dedicate some time to writing all about this special little girl I am so lucky to have as my daughter.

Today I took Moonbeam shopping - this isn't something I generally choose to do with her, as I cherish my shopping alone time and it's usually a way for me to get some "me" time without the constant demands of a little person, a husband or work.  But I have the next week off of work and I thought today would be a good day to bring her along as I shopped for a dress for a wedding we're attending tomorrow.

Before heading off, I fed Moonbeam a nice big breakfast (she's a huge eater - she honestly consumes more calories than I do in a day) so that she'd have a full tummy for the morning.  As usual, I gave her her own spoon so that she could scoop the oatmeal out of her bowl and practice eating on her own.  She is doing so good with this - and she is so proud to eat on her own using big girl utensils!

Next, I asked her if she wanted to get her hair done.  This used to be a huge battle for us, but her Nana (Apollo's mom) just finished a 2 month stay with us and she transformed Moonbeam from a total hair-rebel into LOVING getting her hair done.  When I offered to do her hair this morning, Moonbeam toddled over to the bathroom door and banged on it with her little hand; yes!  of course she wanted her hair done!  So I picked her up and sat her at the sink while she "brushed her teeth" and helped me comb her hair.  We sucessfully tied in two little pigtails and we were ready to get dressed.

Moonbeam loves clothes.  She is the girliest of girls, which is really quite funny, as this is not something that she gets from me nor did she inherit this biologically from Aurora.  It's just all her.  So when we went to her room to pick out her clothes for the day, it wasn't a surprise when she picked the sparkliest, pinkest Minnie Mouse (aka "Mimi" to Moonbeam) shirt and and matching shorts.  Once dressed from head to toe in pink, we were all set.

When I told her that we were going to go for a car ride to go shopping, she walked over to her car seat and climbed in.  She's still in an infant rear-facing seat, as she doesn't meet the weight requirement for a forward-facing seat yet (in Canada, children have to be 22 lbs and she's barely breaking 21 lbs).  We strapped her in and then she waved and said bye bye to Daddy.

Once at the mall, she was in heaven.  All the people to wave and say hi to!  The music (she dances constantly and loves top 40 type songs, despite the musical refinement we are trying to bestow on her)!  All the pretty sales ladies telling her that she's so cute (this pleases her to no end - she is such a flirt)!  And all the pretty clothes to ooohhh and aahhh at!

This happiness lasted until I had to venture into the fitting room to try on some dresses.  She really disliked having the door closed (despite having a full length mirror to flirt with herself in) and she kept pointing at the door handle and saying bye bye.  I wondered if the closed quarters and white walls were reminiscent of the doctor's office that she so dislikes being closed up in.  I picked out a dress really quickly and then we were on our way.

Next were shoes for Moonbeam.  She doesn't have any hard-soled shoes yet, as we were waiting until she was walking to get her a pair.  She and I found our way to a shoe store and she loved looking at the various sparkly and pink shoes.  I pulled her out of her little cart and asked her to try some of the shoes on.  She furiously shook her head no and hit the pair of shoes I had in my hand for her to try on.  I tried another pair.  Same reaction with more forceful hitting.  And then another pair.  An even stronger refusal.  So we gave up on shoes.

I knew we were running on borrowed time as we were encroaching on nap-time territory.  But I really wanted cute socks and shoes for her to wear to the pre-wedding party she and I are attending tonight.  So we made our way to the D.isney store - a total hit.  She loves that place ...  before I was a parent, I would shake my head when my sister insisted we take her little guy in there to buy him pj's or a toy or whatever.  Now, it really makes my day to see Moonbeam's eyes light up with so much magic and excitement.  I found her a pair of little Minnie shoes and pink frilly socks (she refused to try them on) and we were ready to go home.

As soon as we got home, I showed her the new Minnie shoes.  I expected a tantrum similar to what had escalated at the mall, but she snatched them out of my hand and with a huge grin on her face, she repeatedly exclaimed "Wowwwww!!!".  I promised her we could wear them later and then Daddy put her down for a nap.

It's crazy that my little baby is transforming into a little girl right before my eyes.  She loves Beyonce, tutus and blueberries.  She is walking all around now and refuses to hold my hand.  She plainly tells me "no" and "I don't want" and is learning to say "yes" and sign "thank you".  She knows all sorts of words (it's blowing my mind!) - bird, noisy, ball, bath, blueberry (boo ba), fish, mama and daddy, nana (her grandma), woosh for water, sshhh for soother, baby, no, duck, outside ...  and that's just off the top of my head.  She is so smart and makes me so proud with every single new thing she does.

Sometimes I can't even remember never being a mom.  Sometimes I catch myself feeling guilty for being annoyed when Moonbeam is throwing a tantrum and hitting shoes I want to buy for her.

In the first few months that Moonbeam became my daughter, sometimes I would forget that I actually was a mom, like when I was shopping in a kids' store and would think "When I have a kid, I'll buy her that!" and then suddenly realizing I had a 3 month old baby at home with her daddy.  Ten years of infertility and disappointment wears a person down - I think I seriously doubted that I would ever really be a mother.  Luckily, the sadness of infertility has worn off and I truly celebrate this wonderful opportunity life has granted me.  I love being a mom; I used to wonder if it was an overrated title, but for me, it really is all I ever wanted to become ...  and everything about the role lives up to my expectations.

And here I am with a TODDLER - not a baby anymore (although anytime I point to a baby, Moonbeam pats herself on the chest and says "baby").  I love this kid more than life itself and I love seeing who she is becoming, shoe tantrums and all.