100 Things I Love (Summer 2022 Edition)

I love being pregnant and I love not being pregnant anymore after nine months. I love seeing the face of the little human who has been kicking me for the last couple months and having them steal another piece of my heart. I love how the more kids I have, my love only multiplies not divides. I love those first days with our bebe when Bruce hangs out with me all day long. I love when my mom watches the girls and people bring meals so I don’t have to think about it. I love the footprints they take in the hospital on the blue or pink paper. And I love keeping all the hospital bracelets with the idea that one day I’ll do something special with them. I love the way newborns smell and the way our laundry detergent gives my kids a signature smell when I snuggle them.

I love how babies grab your finger with their tight-fisted hands. And how Thorin grabs the collar of my shirt when he nurses and I love when he falls asleep in my arms with his head back and mouth agape. I love that his gassy smiles have now turned to real ones. I love how his smile moves his heavy cheeks up from his resting grump face. I love how content he is on the changing table so I leave him there to coo and stretch and I love how his hair curls into a natural fauxhawk making him the stylish of us all. I love when he actually goes down for a nap but I also love it when he sleeps on me in the wrap and I kiss his head the whole time. I love trying to find cute baby boy clothes (it was so much easier with girls) and how tiny they are when I fold them to fill his dresser.

I love having a son less than 4 weeks older than my best friend’s son and how somehow after more than a decade of friendship we live five minutes away and our boys can share their childhoods with each other. I love texting all day about newborns and lack of sleep and cute things they do. I love when you do returns at Amazon you can drop them off at Kohls and get $5 in Kohls cash and I love that it is my best friend who got me hooked on it. I love walking to the sale section of kids clothes with said Kohls cash and picking up something new for Thorin on the cheaps and texting my best friend pictures the outfits I found so she can help me pick one out to buy. I love baby showers and birthday parties and all the gatherings that bring us together.

I love the games that my children make up and watching how their toddler brains discover the world around them. I love how they stop to look at everything on a hike and point out all the cacti they see. I love the rock collections they make and the art projects they create. I love hearing Bruce and the girls during bedtime as I nurse Thorin in the neighboring room. And I especially love hearing the girls pray to Jesus and sing the doxology. And that one time while I was sitting in the dark in Thorin’s room rocking him back and forth, I heard Hilde ask God to live in her heart forever and never leave (that was 9/18/22).

I love that Bruce is so handy and enjoys making my Pinterest dreams come true. I love his long hair and that he cut his beard short again because short beard is my favorite. I love that we celebrated 10 years of marriage this summer and I love that we have known each other as long as we haven’t. I love that Bruce makes time for me go to Estate Sales and buy old things for our house. And I love that I’m not buying everything new but giving a second life to a painting or a piece of furniture or even tools for a garage. I love watching the Office all the way through. Again. I love all the seasons with Michael Scott and I love being surprised each time when the episodes are still funny even after he is gone.

I love when Hilde says “Purple Please” instead of pretty please and when she calls Trolls World Tour “Pop Trolls” but it sounds like “Paw Patrol”. And when she knows all the words to All Star because she loves Shrek. And when she requests Be My Escape by Relient K in the car by asking if I can play that song that says “I’m begging you. I’m begging you. I’m begging you.” I mostly just love how much this girl loves music and inherited her mama’s skill for lyric memorization! I love that her eyes watered during Harmonious the Epcot Night show when we watched it on Disney Plus and I love that she called them “Happy Tears.” I love that she is old enough to do activities on her own for the first time like VBS and Awana. I love that she calls both of those school because that’s the closest thing to “school” she has going on and I love the ownership she takes over those activities.

I love living near family. I love the free babysitting but I also love the dinners, the memories, the milestones that we get to celebrate in person. I love that my kids call their teenage cousins their friends. And the fact that there are so many other adults in my kids’ lives who love them so deeply and speak truth into their hearts. I love group family messages, using emoji reactions to respond to news, and finding the perfect gif for a conversation. I love when those group messages organize family adventures and when everyone gets together for a family reunion including those who don’t live near.

I love when Millie makes me (or anyone) play the yes no game by saying “You say yes, I say no!” And the way her hair is so blonde she tells everyone it is white. I love when she says “teeny tiny” and the way she says it in the cutest little, high pitched voice. I love her affinity (or obsession) for babies. And how one time she was crying because she didn’t want to go to bed and she wanted me to wake up Thorin to cry with her. I love how she says “It’s greeeeeen!” when she comes down the stairs in the morning and how the first thing she wants to do is climb into a lap. I love how every time she is in the car she asks for sunglasses and how when I finally bought her a pair, she wears them faithfully.

I love eating out at Rudys. And JJs, Fuzzies, and I love that my kids can point out all our favorite restaurants as we drive by and list them off when people ask “What is your favorite thing to eat?” I love bubbly water and almost any flavor besides lemon and lime. I love making microwave popcorn for a snack with the girls. And then making another bag because it wasn’t enough. I love when I get on a kick and make the same treat over and over again (like puppy chow!) I love that Sprouts has meal kits so every time I do my shopping there we get gyros for dinner! I also love the Mealime app and anything that make making meals for my family easier.

I love when best friends move back to town when you thought it would never happen. I love community, friends with shared values, and adventures together. I love brining the camera along with me wherever we go. And getting moments to write even if it is just voice-to-text in my phone’s note app. I love Google Photos and being reminded of memories “this week” in the past. And all the times Bruce and I look at pictures of the kids and talk about them lovingly after they go to bed. And I simply love doing posts like this so be prepared for more in the future 😉

* I saw someone else do a post like this and I wanted to try it out. It was so fun to write and it makes me want to do this every season as a recap post – a bit like Our Daily Moments but with words and not pictures. Speaking of Our Daily Moments, it has been over 2 years since the last one! Maybe we should pick that up again soon. I love looking back on those memories!