Today you are 3

Happy birthday, my sweet Emberly.

You woke up a little earlier than usual, yelling for me. “Mom! Mommy! OHHH Mommy!! There’s a lot of balloons in here!”

We spent the morning playing and opening presents, before heading to daycare.

To make a day as amazing as you, it takes a lot to do. Besides the 45 balloons across your floor, you needed to see it everywhere how loved you are.

You get to top your special day off with a round of gymnastics with your friends.

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There are so many things I want to say to you, about you. Every day you are proving to be one of the most loving, caring, funny people I’m graced to know. Your hugs are strong and filled with such joy. Sometimes I think you can squeeze tighter than me. You feel so intensely which is amazing and heartbreaking. To see the excitement and love in your eyes when were together makes each day more livable.

You are so smart, catching on quickly to most things you see. You speak paragraphs at a time and are mimicking not only what others are saying, but you’re also picking up on their meaning and the way they say it. At least once a day your daddy and I laugh hysterically at the things you tell us, with the things you remember. Each day we are blown away by how amazing you are. Even in those times were you are shaking from anger, we know you are brilliantly loving. The intensity with which you live is something I strive to mimic myself.

You have your own moments, that’s for sure. But in those moments, we realize how strong you are and exactly which traits you’ve inherited from us. You are so kind to your friends and always wanting to share with them. I hope your loyalty continues on.

Today, I love you more than yesterday but not as much as I will tomorrow. You are fantastic and I am so lucky I get to spend this time with you. I can’t wait for our nightly snuggles on the couch, the hugs that require you to wrap your legs around me, and the just one more story request at bedtime.

I love you with all of my heart Emberly. I hope you have an amazing 3rd birthday!

With all my heart,

Mom

You’ve got to accentuate the positive

eliminate the negative.
Johnny Mercer was pretty smart there. This is my current motto of which I am living (this week. Note: I have full right to change that motto at any given time with no notice.)

Something was just different on Monday. I had my usual on-call schedule of Monday and Tuesday nights, but this time, I wasn’t stressed come Monday afternoon. In fact, I was barely phased about the possibility of my annoying on-call ringer going off. I noticed I was present more with my family. Tensions didn’t raise to the point of tears as had been the norm in the previous weeks. The times that being on-call did come to the forefront, I was able to shrug it off and continue enjoying my night.

I’m not sure if this new mindset was something I did myself, the fact that I only had Monday and Tuesday on-call until the following Monday, or even if this, dare I say, happiness will last. For now, I’m grabbing hold of it and riding through to the end.

I’ll let you know if it continues on into next week as I have that Monday, Tuesday, Friday and full 24 hour shifts for Saturday and Sunday. For now, I’m going to snuggle up on the couch watching the predicted blizzard move in, maybe making a few snow angels with Ems, and loving the place I’m in…until the next emotional blizzard comes through.

Here’s hoping the rest of you find your own little peaceful moments where the beauty of the untouched snow takes precedence over the blizzard.