8 things i am grateful for

i'm going to be honest. we were in a dark place this week. we all had the crud, and it hit bella pretty hard in the way of temper tantrums, lots of crying, hacking coughs all night, falling asleep in really awkward ways, only to wake up cranky, and general awfulness. typically, when kids get sick, they get all snuggly and lethargic. while i would never wish ill upon my babies, those would have been welcome symptoms around these parts. 

in light of that, we are all pretty much recovered and i woke up this morning with an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness. 

8 things i am grateful for:

1. an abundant supply. of milk. i nurse exclusively, but pump so we can go out in the future. i currently have nearly 60 oz of milk in the freezer and just added another 5. while i didn't have a lacking supply with bella, i could never pump more than 2 oz at a time. 

2. a baby that will take a bottle. bella would only be fed from a straw. her highness was special like that. cora will take milk in any form a long as it goes to her belly.

3. cora. she is such a fantastic baby. we had friends over last night and she was awake or asleep, but quiet the entire night, allowing us to enjoy the company of our friends. then, they left and she went to sleep. and is still asleep. it's 11:30 am. and at this point, she only wakes twice to nurse. 

4. awesome friends. you know those friends who can't really over stay a welcome? we've got em. we had "game night" for a few hours and when everyone was getting ready to leave, i kinda wished it wasn't time to go yet. a couple even stayed later watching the game, and they could have stayed longer. good friends, good conversation, good fun. 

5. coffee. i know this one is a bit trivial. but after last night, i didn't go to bed until 2 am. so, i am pretty happy with my daily caffeine intake. it's the one thing i won't give up. it doesn't just give me energy, but it warm (almost literally) my soul. it makes me think of all kinds of things, like good friends i'm not near anymore (especially as i drink out of my colorado mug, gifted by one of those friends). it's like a giant cup of comfort each morning. 

6. a great husband who is such a great dad. you've seen that saying, "i never knew how much i loved your daddy until i saw how much he loved you."? that is always in my head. as i tap this out, i am listening to him in the other room with bella say, "i love your head {kiss}, i love your toes {kiss. *bella giggle*} i love you big {squeeeeze} i love your nose {bella squeal}". he doesn't do diapers, and he isn't crazy about screaming (i don't blame him....) but the man is a rockstar with a toddler. and she is crazy about him. 

7. germany weather. there is snow outside and we have a sled date for an hour from now. it's pretty much the thing i have wanted my whole life. and now i have it. i live in a snow globe. and it is every bit as fantastic as i thought it would be.

8. bella. as wild and demonic as she can be, she is a sweet little thang at her core. she says things like, "mommy, i need to ask you something. can i hug you?" with her hands behind her back and her puppy dog eyes. and she is so full of love and life and spunk. if i knew that i could have her be a quiet perfect little girl, but she would lose her quirky personality, i would never make that trade. she has a huge personality and that pendulum has to swing somewhere. it just helps when i've had enough sleep to deal with it.