After a long and pretty tough week, I was looking forward to a nice Mothers’ Day weekend. My little girl is still teething and needing lots of extra love and attention these days. She’s also quite the mover and the shaker and this Mama here is pretty tired from chasing her around and trying to keep her little noggin’ from bumping into too many things.  We also had quite the scare this week when our shepherd had a run in with what we think to be a feral cat who was brave enough to climb over into our yard. The cat seemed  okay as he took off after Jeff split the two apart, but our shepherd was left with scratches across his face and paws as well as a fractured tooth which had to be removed the next day. I love my animals but I don’t always like them acting like animals. After spending a day with the vet, we brought a very loopy dog home. He’s fine now and lets hope the cats stay out of our yard! While Linus was at the vet, we took Charlotte to the beach to start our weekend. We let this dog run a long the dog beach side and she loved it! It had been awhile since she had been to the beach and it was fun watching her frolic in the sand. We visited the farmers market and were excited to pick up some stone fruits already! Yum! We also enjoyed seeing friends and their babies at a house warming party and finally we spent sunday with my family including my Grandmother (Ellie’s Great Grandmother). It was a VERY hot day. Perfect for a first dip in a kiddie pool that Ellie’s Aunties picked up for her. It was nice to spend time with my family. I’m so very lucky that I have such a close relationship with them. My first Mothers Day with Ellie (outside of my tummy). It’s so neat to be able to spend Mothers Day with Ellie, my mom and my grandmother. I had gone through old pictures of when I was a baby, last night, and came across a few of my mom and grandma in a kiddie pool with me as a baby. It’s kind of magical when life replays itself with a new generation. I guess I’m finding being a mother both tough as all heck but extremely magical  and amazing the next minute. My baby girl has quite the personality already. She can be stubborn and strong-willed ( Dad says, “like her mother…” I say ” ahem… like her father.”), but at the end of the day… at the end of this long week and at the end of this lovely Mothers Day… I sat in the rocking chair, my stubborn, sweet baby cradled in my arms. Her blond hair smelling sweet and clean from the evening bath. I sat there rocking my girl to sleep and felt so very blessed and lucky to be her mother. I couldn’t help but get teary holding her and loving her so very much. This quote I came across on Jodi’s blog resonates with me so very much. I had to take it for my own and use it here today…

“The most difficult part of birth is the first year afterwards. It is the year of travail – when the soul of a woman must birth the mother inside her. The emotional labour pains of becoming a mother are far greater than the physical pangs of birth; these are the growing surges of your heart as it pushes out selfishness and fear and makes room for sacrifice and love. It is a private and silent birth of the soul, but it is no less holy than the event of childbirth, perhaps it is even more sacred.” – Joy Kusek

Happy Mothers Day to my mother, to my grandmothers and to all the mothers out there. We are all so lucky to be given this gift of Motherhood.

*linking up with Amanda today.