Birthday post for Mom

It's Mom's birthday today!

She's lovely.

She deserves all your well wishes and more.

At first, I didn't know if I should write "Mom" in the title of this post, or "Gil," because Evelyn is here now.  That makes Mom "Gil" and me "Mommy", and ohbytheway, did you know it sounds weird for your parents to call you "Mommy"?  Because it does.

I decided to type "Mom" rather than "Gil", though, because this is my blog and Evelyn can't read.  And because Mom is my mom.

This is fairly obvious, but Mom has taught me a lot about being a mom this past year.

Stuff like: having a baby is no reason to stay home and miss out on everything, but sometimes it's a very handy excuse if you need it to be.  

She also showed me how to bathe a baby without getting its awful little umbilical cord wet, or letting it slip away from you like a wet bar of soap. 

She reminds me that I didn't cut a single tooth until some time around 10 months, and that Evelyn's little gums are so pretty. 

Also, she comments on my blog, and I love that.

She tries to teach Evelyn nursery rhymes, and how to clap her hands--two things I'd honestly forgotten that I was supposed to care about as a parent until I saw Mom and Evelyn having a blast doing them together. 

Evelyn starts laughing whenever she first sees Mom, because this girl loves her grandparents and knows when she's about to have lots of fun.  Mom and Evelyn always have lots of fun.  I made a whole photo book about it and gave it to Mom for her birthday.

It's been fun and strange and reassuring to watch Mom be a grandma this past year.  I know I've talked about it before, but I love seeing how well-loved Evelyn is.  Cody and I rely on a lot of help and encouragement from our families, and Mom is Evelyn's main baby-watcher when we're not around.   They both seem to love seeing each other so often, and I love it too.

Happy birthday, Mom!  We hope you love your day!