I Heart Mother's Day

Out of the four years I've celebrated Mother's Day as a mom, this year's been my favorite by far. Mostly because Taylor is four and old enough now to "get it" and actually show her appreciation for me in her own, sweet way. She woke me up this morning by bringing me her favorite picture of the two of us and saying, "Happy Mudder's day, mom!" She's been wishing me a happy mudder's day since Thursday at Mother's Day tea, where Mrs. Cindy (The best preschool teacher in the world) had a special program for all the moms. She told some stories, read a few poems, and I got to spend some one-on-one time with Tay making crafts and enjoying brunch.

Yesterday I got to spend some time with my own mom and the kids at the mall. I'm SO lucky to have a mom who has always been there for me and who loves her grand kids to pieces. We ate, shopped and chatted and just enjoyed each other's company.

I ended the day with a hot stone massage at a day spa, courtesy of Wes, where I tried very hard to relax. But I was too excited! The article I wrote for Deseret News was picked up by KSL.com, and went from having 400 page views to 26,183 as of today! I was excited. Taylor and Corinne didn't quite understand. I showed Tay the article on the computer with my name and she said, "That's good...Can I have some apple juice?" Always keeping me humble, those two. I was spoiled even more this weekend with charms for my Pandora bracelet and flowers at church.

Even though it's impossible to have a day of complete rest and relaxation with two little ones, I still had a wonderful weekend. I've had a lot of time to reflect on being a mother and it has recharged my batteries a bit, reading friend's blogs and facebook posts about their experiences and feelings. Sometimes I get caught up in how challenging and consuming it is and forget how much I absolutely love this calling. Aside from marrying Wes, it's been the most life altering experience I've had so far. Watching my girls grow has taught me more about myself than I ever knew before (and some things I didn't want to know). I'm so thankful for them and try every day to be deserving of such amazing little people. Mother's Day tea with my little lady and her goofy, four-year-old smile.Taylor took this picture of Corinne, my sassy little ball of spunk and attitude!

Ok, so she didn't spell it right. But look at how she sounded it out! I absolutely love teaching her to read and write, and seeing the light go on in that cute little head of hers.We released the butterflies at preschool. A sort of symbolic ceremony, since our babies our off to kindergarten next year. It was Mrs. Cindy's subtle way of telling us we'll all have to let go and back off a little in the future.
My girls on the train at the mall. You know you're a mom when your refrigerator looks like this.

LOVE Sky City Bounce House! Can't believe Corinne is big enough to go down this slide alone. *sniffle, sniffle*

Untitled from Nikki Pollard on Vimeo.

Corinne practicing her long jump

Untitled from Nikki Pollard on Vimeo.

Taylor's funny

Untitled from Nikki Pollard on Vimeo.