here’s my darling bulldog and baby girl helping mommy in the kitchen. kingsley sits ever so still beside my feet at the counter waiting for me to drop or spill something for him to devour and baby girl makes lots of cooing sounds as she watches me cook or clean up.

i realized the other night that eleanor really loves my singing. she is also the only person in this world who does, which makes me love her even more. i also realize that her love for my singing will definitely change in the coming years once she realizes how terrible my voice actually is, so i’m taking full advantage and singing nonstop while i can.

sometimes i think kingsley and eleanor scheme together before bedtime about which nights they’re going to simultaneously be bad (kingsley) and awake all night (eleanor) to drive me crazy. in fact yesterday morning, after josh and i were up all night long, i told him, “that was the worst night of my life”. then we both glanced over at sleeping eleanor who smiled bigger than she ever has. could it be? ;)

i drove by the hospital where eleanor was born on friday morning for the first time since her birth. and i got so emotional. so much went down there, my little girl took her first breath there, and my life changed forever as i held her for the first time there. i will always have a special place in my heart for that hospital, their staff, and my wonderful doctor.

i have a new found respect for women who have more than one baby. or a baby plus toddlers. or a baby plus any other children. having a baby plus a dog is hard enough work in my eyes. but will you believe me when i say i already miss my pregnant belly and want to do it all over again, and again, and again? that thought is actually quite funny when i think about how many times in those last few hours at the hospital before meeting E that i swore to myself i would never do this ever again. how things can change…