a million moments

Deran was home on spring break last week after being gone the whole week before for business. And maybe it's because our schedule has been so off, but March is passing in a blur. I normally don't mind the hustle and bustle, but it's been a big week at the Schilling house and I wouldn't mind taking things a little slower the rest of the month. Avery started sleeping in her own room and she started using the potty. We've a long way to go, but she tinkled three times in the toilet yesterday. And I just became that mom. The one that talks about her kid's bodily functions and snaps all the pictures of her baby on the toilet. Don't think they're not coming soon. Just kidding, I haven't taken any. Yet!

Early last week Avery rolled off our bed and it really scared us. So around 4:30 in the morning while trying to calm her down and let me regain a normal heart rate, Deran and I decided it was time for a toddler bed. We made a trip to Ikea one evening and the next day Deran and Avery put the bed together. She was so cute holding the little Allen Wrench, I had to go get D another one so he could actually finish working on it. She made the transition too easy. So easy that I cried after I put her to bed the first night. Sobbed actually, but only for a few minutes. It's just that co-sleeping has worked for us, besides the whole falling off the bed thing, but I knew I would miss her sweet face in the morning. But the thing is, after a handful of nights, I still wake up to her sweet face. Baby steps, Internet. Baby steps.

She wakes up around 2:30 - 3:00 and cries until I go scoop her up and snuggle her between us. Who knows, I may try to get her back to sleep in her own bed one night this week. Crazy, right?! Anyway, the whole point of this post is that over the last week there have been so many moments that I wished I had a camera close by. Watching help put the bed together, the way the sun shines on her blond hair while we play outside in the evening, her looking at me through the window of her playhouse in the mornings before running out and away from me in the backyard falling and laughing, how incredibly adorable she was as she squeaked down the street on our walk Sunday night, or how she waves to her shadow while laying in her bed at night and tells the baby "hi!" I just want to commit all of these things to memory because Avery right now is just...the best. I know I've said that before, but it's still true.

Last night I peeked in on her before heading to bed and noticed that she was on her way to falling off the bed. So before rearranging her, I snapped a photo. A way to remember her first week in her new bed, wearing Halloween pajamas in March. Shot just inside her doorway with the light from the hallway. Technically speaking, it's nothing great. But man, it tugs at my heart. I really love that girl.

ISO 2500, f/1.8, 1/60