The Baffling Brunette: A fresh pair of eyes

Up until six months ago my life was all about me me me. I had to get through school, I had to get that job, I had to buy those jeans, I had to drink that wine. It was a blissful time. I was the happiest person in all the world. I had the man of my dreams, a fulfilling career, and a raging social life full of wining, dining and traveling. I was content, this was the life...

Oh how fun it is to be expecting!

Then one day I was feeling sort of funny. Something was off. "I can't be..........pregnant???????
From that day forward everything changed. My body (duh), my wardrobe and my drinking habits (by that I mean coffee!) It wasn't about me anymore. This person nestled in my belly needed me. She relied on me every day to provide the best possible environment for her to grow big and strong. So I marched over to my employer and requested to be paid double time. After all, there were two of us working at that time! (I'm still waiting for Colette's paycheck)

Is this baby ever going to come out!?

Now that my husband and I are new parents, we have realized that our number one priority in life is to guide our baby onto her own path. We are the source of her childhood memories, as were our own parents. By the way, it's not until you have a child of your own that you can fully appreciate all that your parents went through with you. I'd like to take this moment to thank my mom and dad for wiping my butt in the middle of the night...night after night after night after night. Thanks, I'll take it from here!

Little Colette has a fresh pair of eyes. So every day she experiences something new. The smell of rain has never smelled so sweet until today when I took her in the pouring rain and she held out her hands catching the rain drops. Her squinty smile and silly giggle brought tears to my eyes.

Having her is like re-living my own childhood. I feel like the best part of her entire life is under my control and I can't wait to do it all! Here are some things I remember from my own childhood that I will be making sure Colette gets to experience:

Go to the pumpkin patch
Feed the ducks
Collect tadpoles and attempt to grow them into frogs
Build a fort
Play hide and seek
Play hopscotch
Do cartwheels and handstands
Hula hoop
Write in wet cement
Take in stray animals
Make a retainer out of a paper clip
Protest showering
Finger paint
Run to the ice cream man
Say eeeeewww when parents cook fish
Swim until shriveled
Sing songs
Attend Sunday Mass
Eat the middle out of Oreos and throw out the cookie
Bake a Mystery Cake and then throw a tantrum when nobody will eat it
Put every soda at the fountain in one drink and pretend that it tastes good
Open a lemonade stand
Run to the car and tag it first in order to get the front seat
Steal moms makeup and clothes and lie about it
Watch fireworks while eating taco bell with daddy

Little or no money is required to make memories. I remember when my parents bought a new refrigerator, my sister and I turned the box into a spaceship. It was a magical day.