What I'll do differently the third time around

Oh my, how time flies by. Here I am 1/2 way through my pregnancy with Porter (Yay!), and I can still remember the smallest details from my pregnancy with Ella Beth over five years ago. When I look at Ella Beth at five years old and Landon about to turn four, I am reminded once again that time is fleeting. It's something that I can never get back. No matter how hard I may long to go back to times before both kiddos learned to say "no," back to times where everyone was on the same nap schedule (or even when just one child was still napping!) - nothing can be done to go back in time for do-overs or to simply sit and enjoy a specific time.

I will admit that when I first found I that I was pregnant, I really hoped for another little girl. Not because I love Ella Beth more than Landon, and certainly NOT because girls are easier (b/c they are not!). No, I really hoped for a little girl because I have so many beautiful and precious things that I never used. I have handmade blankets that were "too pretty to use." I have appliqued burp cloths that were "too fancy" to have Ella Beth spit up all over (hello, GERD). I have a few dresses that Ella Beth only wore once to the "most special of occasion" because they were too nice to "waste" on every day wear.

Silly, silly me. The most beautiful girly items are now boxed up, put up, and just waiting in hope that Ella Beth will be the mother of a little girl some day.

But, I will be doing things differently the third time around.

For Porter, I have already bought the most crisp, WHITE blanket. It is soft, it is cozy, and, did I mention, it is stark white. As in W-H-I-T-E. I will use it all of the time. I also have one of the softest hand-knitted blankets on the planet that was given to me after Landon was born. I never used it with Landon - it was just too beautiful. But, I will be using it with Porter.

I have realized that blankets and burp cloths and precious outfits - while they may be as beautiful and sweet as can be - they are just things. It's OK if they get dirty, stained, torn, or even, Gasp!, ruined. It's not the things themselves that are special, it's the memories made while using and enjoying them that will last.

Thankfully, I have gotten better over the last three and a half years since Landon has come along. I typically let both kiddos get at least three uses out of their best clothes. ;) Now, with Porter...he may just be seen in the same three outfits all of the time! But, in all seriousness, I do tend to do this differently. It's not the blankets or the outfits or the even the sweetest appliques that make the memories special. It's the baby, and the mommy, enjoying them.