Just me and her.

 

I mentioned in my post last week that Chris and I have a good teamwork system going with the kids. It's only been natural that I mostly take Mattias and he takes Meredith. He does bedtime for Meredith most nights now. When I had my good friend in town last week, Mattias crashed our girl time, while Meredith and Chris enjoyed some quality daddy-daughter time. I was really worried when I was pregnant that I wouldn't get the same amount of quality time with Mattias that I had with Meredith when she was a newborn. Between babywearing, early morning co-sleeping, Meredith's one day at preschool each week and the hours logged nursing, I haven't seen that fear come to pass. I have felt like Mattias has gotten a pretty decent amount of one-on-one attention. It wasn't until this weekend that I realized it was Meredith and me that haven't gotten that same quality one-on-one attention since Mattias's birth. Actually, aside from in the house while Mattias is napping, we haven't had any mommy-daughter time since he was born.

On Saturday, I decided Meredith was overdue for a haircut. We found a place and took the plunge. I hovered nearby and watched as my baby girl aged five years right before my very eyes. After the cut, we went to Starbucks for a treat of "chockie milk." As we stood in the long line, I caught myself squatting down at her height hugging and kissing her as if it were my last ever chance to do so. And that's when it dawned on me that, after over two years of it almost always being just me and her, it hadn't been just me and her for three months. That's when I decided we wouldn't head straight home as we had planned, but would instead prolong our outing and get a car wash.

Meredith loves the car wash. She can watch each step of the cleaning process, getting slightly misted in the process, and there's free popcorn. I loved the car wash because it was 30 minutes of just me and her. I kissed her cheeks until my lips were chapped and marveled at how big she is. I soaked up her sweetness and the way it takes so very little to make my little girl happy.

I texted Chris as were wrapping up that he had no idea how happy he had made me by taking Mattias for the morning so we could have an outing just us. Those two hours healed me. They healed a little tiny hole that I hadn't even realized was there. My firstborn will always be my firstborn. There is something that is just so special about her- the girl who made me a mom. And while I thank God everyday that I now have a baby boy as well, Saturday, with my best girl, was just what I needed.

eating popcorn is serious business