My first Mother’s Day was the epitome of a perfect day. Clara slept seven hours before waking up to eat around 5:15. We stayed up together for a bit after she finished her first breakfast, then she fell asleep for another three hours. During that time, I kept her in the bed with us, and she snuggled right up to my face. When I opened my eyes, she was so close that I could barely focus on her! It was seriously the sweetest thing in the world. While she and I were snuggling, Eric got up to make breakfast. We had baked bacon with brown sugar and cayenne (my favorite) and purple potato home fries. Eric made a pot of French press coffee with freshly ground coffee beans, which he used to make delicious Vietnamese iced coffee.

After breakfast, we went to a craft store to pick up a few things for projects I’m working on, and then we decided to stop at a local nursery. I’ve been wanting a succulent garden for quite a while (since I saw one on Pinterest, of course), so we got everything we needed and came home to plant. I love the way it turned out, and I’m excited to see how it grows and changes over the next year.

Being a mom is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I love Clara more and more each day. She is our most precious and wonderful gift, and our life is better because she’s in it.

Eric got off work early on Good Friday, and we went shopping for a few treats for Clara. We quickly realized that we have way too much fun shopping for her. We found all kinds of cute, educational toys at Barnes and Noble and had to practice self restraint in order to avoid getting all of them. We have our eyes on this adorable wooden block set for when she’s older. Also, I think we have a weakness for Melissa & Doug toys. Most of the ones we saw were for ages three and up, but that didn’t stop us from looking at them for a while. There are wooden ice cream and cupcake toys! Wooden toys = totally adorable.

We started Easter morning by checking out the goodies she got from Easter Bunny. She got three books, a pair of pink sunglasses, two diapers, a Janie & Jack onesie, mini Reese’s Cups and a chocolate Peter Rabbit. She especially enjoyed the Reese’s. 😉 That night, we went to a cookout at our friend Erin’s. Other than needing to eat a few times while we were there, Clara was pretty happy most of the time. We had a fabulous time, too, and the weather was perfect for sitting outside enjoying the company of good people.

At her checkup last week, she weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces – almost two pounds over her birth weight! The girl is definitely good at eating (wonder where she gets that?). She’s smiling even more and making the most adorable little sounds. She is constantly observing the world around her, and I hope that curiosity continues throughout her life.