About Me

Hi! My name is Lexy Briest. I am a teacher, artist, wife, and best of all mom to Delilah Poppy. This blog is meant to document what I love and discover along the way of becoming a mommy, which to me is a never ending journey. Hope you enjoy!

Sunday, April 27, 2014

First Kiss

Little girls think about their first kiss very early on. There are many kinds of first kisses.  Like the one at your 5th birthday party when your prince charming wakes you from your pretend slumber at your princess themed festivity (yes, I have cool parents!).  Or the one on the playground in elementary school. Then there is the one that you were dared to do in middle school. And of course the one from your first boyfriend in high school.  All those kisses only have one thing on the big smoocher I recently got tonight: they were sloppy and wet!

As we continue to experience many firsts with our darling 13 month old, I have never been caught as surprised as I was when Delilah planted one huge open mouthed kiss in my mouth/chin region at the end of our bedtime routine.  After a long week of trying to keep up with the tiny energizer bunny/food guzzler/ diaper hoarder/only-wants-to-go-outsider, this was the best first kiss I have ever had (sorry, Bryan).  It took all I had not to cry but to carry forth my loving mini-me to her crib where she ravenously scooped up her second and third paci, cuddled up to her lovey and sat up to graciously accept my nightly kiss on her precious little head.



Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Cuddle Love

There is nothing quite like the cuddles of your baby in your arms.  In the first months of her life, that is all we did outside of feedings, diaper changes and sleeping.  Those cuddle moments are precious, and everyone warns you how one day they won't want to cuddle. But before that future tragic strikes, I am relishing in having Delilah leave her toy to rush over into my arms, often on her own accord but occasionally when I ask, "Mama, Love?" with outreached arms.  

We have a nightly routine that has been the same since she was 3 months old: we get changed for the night, lotioned up and hair brushed while daddy prepares her room for slumber and selects three books. Then Delilah sits in Bryan's lap while I read. The past few weeks Delilah has taken to stacking the books in her lap and browsing through them on her own for a few minutes when I am done reading. Tonight was the first night that, when finished her book hoarding, she climbed out of Bryan's lap and laid down across me for a body hug. She looked up at me with her piercing blue eyes and snuggled me tighter. My heart just melted.  

A few months ago Bryan and I felt like we were drawing sticks for who was going to put her to bed because it was such a long affair of rocking and feeding. Now, we skip the rocking chair, carry her to her crib, singing one round of our nightly song (which we use to sing for 5-10 minutes!!) and lay her down on her back, placing her extra paci in one hand and her lovey in the other. She looks up and says something through her paci-plugged mouth in gibberish that I am pretty sure is "I love you, too" and we leave the room. It truly is magical! I have been looking forward to these sort of reciprocated and random cuddles as well as the easy bed time since my head came out of its hormone induced cloud at 2 weeks post-natal. 

And though I am happy she is tucked in her crib for the night, I still miss holding her cuteness and will stalk photos and videos of her on my phone for the rest of the night. 


Sunday, April 6, 2014

Finding the Time

I often think about things I want to write, to remember, to be able to share with Delilah when she is older. Finding the time to do so is incredibly hard.  All moms know this. And I use to feel bad about not blogging. But now I feel zero guilt. I am a working mom. I am a wife. And I am creating memories by spending the time not blogging with my beautiful daughter.

Speaking of, Delilah has settled into the most amazing sleeping pattern. She sleeps 6-6:30pm-6:30-7am (except for this morning when she woke up at 7:45!). This has led to me being able to take the time to take care of me and also to be a wife to my husband. I have recently been eating a mostly clean diet with regular meal planning and going to the gym. I have attained my pre-pregnancy weight and with that gained my confidence back. I feel like myself both physically and emotionally. I feel more able to live in the moment when I am playing and holding my daughter because I know I have other things in order for later: I cook on certain nights after she goes to sleep for a few days at a time; I plan ahead when I will go to the gym so my husband will pick up Delilah from daycare; I split household chores with my husband which we do during her naps on the weekends and when she is a sleep in the evenings.

I am very lucky to have a husband who shares these tasks with me (he was taught well by his parents:) ). I am very lucky to have a wonderful woman that helps us raise our daughter while we are at work. And I am blessed with an extraordinary daughter to which I dedicate this blog to so that she may one day see what her life was like when she was so young.