We reached a pretty big milestone today. Until today I had never left Dylan in child care by himself. In the past month we left him in Sunday School and at the gym with his good friend Colin, which was huge in and of itself, but never alone without a familiar face. Today as I was driving to the gym I told him he would go to the Kids' Club at the gym with Colin.

"What are YOU going to do?" he asked me.

"I'm going to ride a bicycle" I answered, looking forward to my spinning class.

Dylan thought for a while and then replied, "Not too long, Mom." I had to chuckle. And then he added, "Only two times" while showing me the peace sign with his two little fingers.

When we got to the Kids' Club and signed him in, he repeated it again, "Only two times". I'm not sure what he meant by two times, maybe it was twice around the neighborhood like he's used to riding, but I thought it was sweet that he didn't say only one time - he gave me more than the minimum.

Colin wasn't there yet, but I told him to watch for him and that he'd be there any minute. His dad was going to drop him off, and his mom was waiting for me in class. When I got on my bike Kristin said that Colin had been napping when it was time to leave, and might not make it. Uh oh. That made me feel terrible for leaving Dylan there alone and promising him a friend to play with. Plus I had told him we could go to the pool if he didn't cry while he was there. The pool is a huge selling point. He LOVES going to the pool. So as I sat there spinning my wheels, my head was spinning as well. How was Dylan? What was he thinking? Was the reward of the pool too much? Would he want the reward so much that it would make him not want to cry even though he felt lonely and sad and maybe abandoned? Was that too much pressure to put on a 2 1/2 year old? I wanted to go check on him halfway through but kept telling myself that he was OK. Someone would come get me if he wasn't.

We left class and headed to the Kids' Club. Kristin spotted Dylan before I did and we watched him for a minute as he walked across the room and grabbed a toy truck, rolling it across the room. He was totally fine. No tears, no drama. When he saw me he ran toward me smiling and shouting, "Mom! Mom!" and asked Kristin, "Where's Colin?". One of the workers said she heard me say that his friend Colin was coming, so when a little boy named Colin checked in she brought him over to Dylan and Dylan started crying, "No, I want the other Colin!"

I was so proud of my little boy for lasting as long as he did all by himself. On the way to the pool he told me, "I cried for Mommy" and when I asked him why he said, "I cried for you". I love that boy. After reassuring him that I would always come back, we had a blast playing in the pool. Dylan decided to jump belly-flop style in the 2-foot section, dunking his head under water each time. Another big milestone for him. So exciting!

Life is good. I'm so blessed and thankful to be able to experience it this fully. Being able to hang out with my boy all day is the best gift I could ever wish for, and I couldn't be happier. Life is so good. 

Springtime

Dylan planted some grass seeds at his school a week ago today, and they sprouted almost immediately. We love to go look at the fresh, dewy grass every morning and check its progress throughout the day.
Easter is almost here!

I entered this picture of Dylan's classmate in a St. Patrick's Day photo contest put on by Snapfish. The only guideline was that the picture had to have a lot of green in it. It was the first time I've entered a photo contest and this picture was one of the winners!

I'm feeling inspired today. I'm not a writer nor do I have much wisdom to share, but here I am creating a blog.

Life is beautiful. I'm happy. Grateful. Blessed.

Over the past few months I've fallen in love with taking pictures of children. Capturing their spirit and the joy in their eyes has proved to be more rewarding than anything I can remember doing.

And so here I am. Sharing the images that make me smile and appreciate life.