Lessons from My Daughter

The new year has always held magic in it to me. It’s a chance for reinvention, for new beginnings. My first kiss with Quinn was on New Year’s Eve nearly a decade ago and my belief in the magic was only magnified after that night.

Lately I’ve found magic isn’t reserved for just the champagne and confetti nights, it’s in my every day. My daughter, Henley, opened my eyes to it. The world is full of wonder to her. She is curious about what things are and how they work. Things I stopped considering decades ago, like what the moon and stars are, why Legos click together, or how airplanes fly.

Let Her Try

A few weeks ago, someone stole a learning moment from Henley. I watched the look on her face and realized this may be the first but it won’t be the last. In a restaurant bathroom, she tried to move a stool under the sink so she could wash her hands. It was all a little clumsy but I was right there and her gears were turning. A woman stepped in. She moved the stool, held Henley, turned on the water, got her a paper towel. All things Henley is capable of doing herself. 

At the end, I asked to Henley, “Do you want to say thank you?”. She did not. (Yes, I believe in manners and teaching gratitude BUT I don’t want her to say things she doesn’t feel.) 

Back at our table I told Quinn the story. While the woman wasn’t helpful, my assumption was she was trying to be. On our way out the door, we walked past the woman and her friends. She loudly remarked, “There’s the little girl I had to help because her mom wouldn’t.” (Inner monologue: “Oh hell, no”.) 

Traveling with a Toddler!

We took our first family vacation in August! After a quick stop in Dallas to see my family and celebrate Henley's 2nd birthday we jetted off to Detroit > Ann Arbor > New Buffalo > Chicago > Dallas! Along the way we visited small towns like the quaint Marshall, Michigan.

I captured some of our adventures in the video below! Hopefully, it shows off how magical it felt. 

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I've been slacking a bit on my Lovely Little Blog posts but I've been fortunate enough to be sharing some of my musings on parenthood through Austin Moms Blog.

In the past year, I've tackled co-sleeping, not breastfeeding, and raising a kind child. Read 'em all here!

Let me know what you think!

p.s. Austin Moms Blog and The Domain hosted a Storytime with Santa last weekend and we got the featured snap capturing all us including Hen's serious face and our elf, Banjo