Two and a Half Years Old

It's true...we now have a 2 1/2-year-old daughter! She's going to be in kindergarten before we know it, but since she's still our "baby" I don't like thinking about that. There are so many things that we love about this girl, and we feel so blessed to have her in our family. With the challenges we've faced the last several months trying to add to our family, it makes us more and more grateful for her each day. I honestly don't know how I would have coped if I didn't have her to hug, kiss, and cuddle all the time. Currently, one of her favorite songs is a church song called "Families Can Be Together Forever." The first time I heard her sing it all by herself, I couldn't help but smile and tear up a bit. Just like I tell her every day, I am the luckiest mom because she is my daughter and always will be. It's moments like this that make all the difficult times worth it.

An Early Gift

A couple of months ago, the inexpensive set of cookware I'd had since before Nate and I were married started to fall apart. Handles were starting to come apart and the non-stick surfaces weren't very non-stick anymore. Nate was ready to go right out and buy a new set for me, but I assured him that I could make do until Mother's Day. Being the great husband that he is, I got to open and use my gift just a few days early. And here they are:
Consumer Reports gave this set an awesome rating, and the price for this 15-piece set was great too. Happy early Mother's Day to me! And for the record, Nate washed all of them for me after pulling them out of the box so I didn't have to. :)