Motherhood...

318 days.

'Motherhood' before actually becoming a mom seemed scary, overwhelming, and unexplainably out of my reach. Now, 47 days until my little is one, and I'm feeling more and more like a mother.

I love being a mom. I love being Jack's mom.

Tonight, for the first time in many, many months, Jack was screaming - wide awake in his crib around 10:00. I, often missing my little boogie dude late at night since his bedtime is 7 pm, was excited. Snuggles and kisses for mommy and Jack. I wiggled and pulled out the dusty corduroy rocking chair in Jack's nursery, grabbed our very favorite chamois baby blanket, and sank in with my not-so-tiny 10-month-old for a good old-fashioned snuggle. Everything flashed back into my memory: burp rags, nursing covers, tiny diapers, terrible late-at-night tv shows, and nursery rhymes. Just a rock in the ol' rocking chair brought me back to the first days of becoming a mom. I can remember those first days like it was just yesterday...

318 days later and I'm still so much in love with being a mom. I love when I smile at Jack he smiles right back -- with a grin that seems to be ear to ear. I love having something to look forward to every single day. From his first little winces as he wakes up in the morning to his grunt-and-scoot he does after he spots me in the corner of his eye when I walk in the door of daycare. I love stripping Jack down to just his diaper so he can devour an entire meal of rotini noodles, turkey spaghetti, and peas all by himself. And, I love sitting down in a pile of toys on the living room floor and grabbing a book to read with Jack {who, by the way, is really into turning pages already! =)}

I still love folding Jack's little clothes. I want to hug and kiss every genius that went into designing the scents of Johnson's baby wash and lotion. I still have a "Jack cupboard", except instead of just bottles and Gerber puffs, it's filled with plates with separate compartments, raisins, and sippy cup upon sippy cup.

Every little sigh, every little laugh-out-loud squeal, and even every cry make me love being Jack's mom even more. Every day brings us closer to Jack's first birthday. It's crazy and surreal to think Eric and I have survived and succeeded for almost one whole year as parents. Now, it seems effortless, simple. As if we've done this our whole lives...

I am beyond thankful for my little man.
Motherhood has indefinitely changed my life in more ways than I could ever imagine.
I love you, Jackson Charles Krieger, and I always will.

Love,
Mom