Favorite Things

If you had asked me a year ago about my favorite things, the list would have included snuggling with  Nate, icecream in mass quantities, coke slurpees, sleeping late, and drinking a frozen margarita while eating delicious Mexican food with friends.  These were the simple joys of my life.  Things I probably enjoyed too often for the well being of my body (definitely too often with the icecream).   Now, just 365 days later, my old list of favorite things has become the list of things I can only dream about doing.  Slowly, but surely, each thing has been crossed off my activities list.

Nate reading to Hudson and his best friend, William

I gave up snuggling with my husband during pregnancy.  Mostly because I was too large for anyone else to fit next to me on the couch, but also because the heat my body produced was rivaled only by the sun.  We had some scares during pregnancy that resulted in giving up caffeine, so there went the delicious coke slurpees.  The sleeping late (really just sleep in general) went out the window when little man arrived and brought colic with him.  The colic also inspired the dairy free diet.  I did try some dairy free chocolate icecream and it was weird.  It didn't taste bad, but it had the texture of dirt.  

So with the eviction of all of my old favorite things came a vacancy that was filled with new, much more incredible favorite things.  Nothing makes me happier now than seeing my baby smile (even if it is only prompted by gas).  My heart melts when I see Nate snuggle with the little guy or read him Dr. Seuss.  I can barely contain my love when I smell his sweet breath and hear him coo as I hold him against my chest.  Parenting is far better than any combination of my old favorite things.  It is absolutely exhausting and makes me feel completely helpless at times, but it is by far the most rewarding experience.