Papa'a Pillow Forts

When it comes to building things, Papa is our go to guy.

Whether it is train tracks, or pillow forts, Papa just has this out of the box way of thinking that makes for great outcomes.

When I build something, it turns out ok. It looks much like how I think it should.

But when he builds something, it comes out being this abstract, creative work of art.

With working a lot of hours lately, Papa tries to be sure and spend as much time with the girls as he can. Luckily, we co-sleep with both girls. So he gets all night snuggles which helps him stay connected with them. But some days he gets very little play time. So pillow forts are sometimes the greatest way for him interact with our little ladies.

The girls are all about it. Oh the giggles that follow one of his builds.

It is amazing to see how he has grown into such a great man. We have been together since we were only 15 and 16. And were the best of friends even before that! It will have been 8 years ago that he asked me to be his Valentine. Who says first loves don't last? It wasn't always easy, but we pulled it off.

Both girls love him so much. But Squirrely has a special bond with him. One that she has had with him ever since his hands were the first hands that held her tiny newborn self. Bunny has always been a bit of a Mama's girl, which I love. But Squirrely is Papa's girl. It is a good thing I breastfeed, or she wouldn't need me at all. With him, she is fearless. Because with him, she never has any reason to fear. Why fear falling when you know someone will always be there to catch you? He always has, from the very beginning.

This post was originally published on Like Mama ~ Like Daughter

Beautiful Mess

When I write, I try to focus on the good. The happy, wonderful, enchanted times are pulled out of my day to day life, and brought here to share and remember. I feel it is my way of finding the beauty in things. But recently, I have been trying to look at beauty with a broader vision. Just because something does not look like what you think it should look like does not mean it is not beautiful.

It might just mean you are not looking at it the right way.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." ~Confucius

This is me after being up half the night with a sick baby, no make up, hair not fixed.

Not a situation that I would normally consider beautiful.

"Our hearts are drunk with a beauty our eyes could never see."

~George W. Russell

But look a little closer and you might find the beauty of it all.

"There is a kind of beauty in imperfection." ~Conrad Hall

It is a beautiful thing. The love and bond between mother and babe.

The "we can make it, together" mentality that disproves the very idea of impossible.

I have read that so much of motherhood is basic survival. I am sure that is true.

But it is during these times that we forge the bonds that make up a family.

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think one of the most important things I have learned as a mama (and re-learn all the time), is to do the very best you can with both the good times and the bad times, for as long as they endure. 

This makes the good stay longer and the bad go by faster.

This post was originally published on Like Mama ~ Like Daughter