Mother's Day 2012

This Mother's Day was really special to me.  It is the first year I have a baby in my ARMS to hug and cuddle.  The last few Mother's Days have been bittersweet.  Mother's Day 2010, I got a call that morning from our embryologist saying that we had two embryos that had fertilized and were waiting for us to finish our IVF cycle.  One of those embryos was Braelyn.  Then Mother's Day 2011, Braelyn wasn't here to celebrate with us that I was a mom, but I was pregnant with Cole.  Fast forward to Mother's Day 2012 and I finally have a baby who is happy and healthy here with me.

First time seeing Braelyn

Matt made the day really special for me.  Cole actually slept in (for the first time ever...) until 8 a.m. So we had a later start to our day than usual.  We went to breakfast at Flattop and it was so good.  I definitely over ate!  We had a couple of errands to run, but I loved every minute of the mundane weekend tasks that we were doing because I had Cole in my arms the entire time.  I refused to push him in the stroller or carry him in his seat because I wanted to be with him as much as possible all day.  He is getting to be a heavy little booger though, my back was hurting by the time we were done at the grocery store :o)

I love this boy so much!

Giving mom some smiles

We came home for a bit to try and get Cole to nap.  He wasn't wanting to nap alone, so I gave in and took one with him.  It felt great to snuggle and hear him breathing next to me.  When we woke up, Matt said he wanted to take us out to Lake Evergreen for a picnic dinner.  Lake Evergreen is special to us because it is where we held Braelyn's funeral.  We like to go out there on special occasions to make it feel like Braelyn is a part of what we are celebrating.  And yesterday, she was a very important part because she is the one who first made me a mama.  This was Cole's first time out to our special spot at the lake too.  He smiled and laughed the whole time!  It was perfect.

Cole's first time to Braelyn's spot at the lake

I am so lucky to have Cole!  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank God for him.  I feel so blessed to have had the experience with Braelyn because I know for a fact that I appreciate Cole even more than ever.  Yesterday it was fun to be celebrated as a mom, but to me, every day is Mother's Day because I LOVE taking care of Cole.

Can't forget my fur baby.  He went along to the lake with us and
was a giant pain, but I love him anyway!