Georgia Grace - A Walking Baby! (June 19, 2006)

Big, big news this weekend! On Saturday, just one week before her first birthday, my daughter took her first steps!! (Sniff, sniff) I still can't believe my baby is one!! And now, she's walking, too!!

Everyone has those moments in life - those every day moments that seem so simple - yet so huge that you know you'll remember them for the rest of your life. When you're young, you never seem to know which of those moments are going to stick in your head, but I think one of the great glories of being a parent is that you can realize those kinds of moments while they're happening.

When I had Eli four years ago, it was such a different experience from the one I had with Georgia. He was an emergency C-section, so I didn't even have time to say "boo" before they knocked me out and wheeled me into the operating room to get him out. Since I was under anesthetic, I wasn't awake when he was born, and I didn't get to meet him for the first time until 12 hours later. I will always remember the first time I saw him, but it was . . . different.

With Georgia, I will always remember the first time they held her up when she was all slimy and screaming with that dark brown hair matted to her head. She was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. I will always remember the first time I heard both of my children laugh. I will always remember the first time Eli rolled over on his own. And I will always remember the day Georgia took her first steps while she was so busy holding a beach ball twice the size of her head that she didn't even know what she was doing.

I think I often complain about how busy I am or how tired I am or how I wished I had a break. In fact, I think most moms are so exhausted that they forget to stop and think about how fast it goes. I remember myself at 14 when I snuck out of the house with Stacey, or at 15 when I was doing things I'm not going to write about here because my parents read this blog. And I am afraid to blink. Because when I do, Eli will be getting ready for college, and Georgia will be that teenage girl who's all too anxious to grow up.

So my message to all of the parents reading this is to forget about the dishes and the laundry. Buy groceries tomorrow and do the vacuuming later. Do something now that will make your kids laugh. Make them so happy that they give you a hug (sometimes all this takes is a gumball). Watch them enjoying something and feel your heart melt. And make one of those memories that you will never forget.