Letting them lead

First, don't worry-YES, there are new pictures, however you will have to forgive me because this post comes with a lot of emotion...so bear with me OR you can just scroll on down to the pictures 8-)
The longer I am a mom, the more I KNOW I was created solely to play this role. I LOVE being a mom, there is not one thing I don't truly adore about being a mom. When I found out I was pregnant, I started reading all the books-preparing myself and getting educated on being the best mom I could...one of those things being getting the boys to use a cup. I read in several books that it was good to introduce the cup to them around 6 months...so that I did. I will never forget one day saying I was going to start them using a cup at 6 months and my mother in law, amusingly looking at me said "we'll see"--no doubt the look/voice of experience...so, it goes without saying, either the people who wrote those books had children that were geniuses and must have finished college by age 15 or they had no children at all...because my boys could not have been less interested in holding their own bottle, much less using a cup. I wondered if I was doing something wrong or if I should try something different because here we were at 11 months and they still were not really interested....and then, I was putting their dishes in the sink and I look up and see this!!!!!!!




As I looked up in amazement, through the tears streaming-I realized everything about being a mom in that moment....LET THEM LEAD! The world is so beautifully innocent through their eyes and my days are so much more glorious because of them, so I just need to sit back, enjoy and let my angels lead. They know when they are ready-not me, they know when they have enough confidence to tackle something new-I don't! The books were very helpful to me, however, there are so many things that I will not and can not be prepared for-the only thing I can do is enjoy every minute of every day with them...and let them lead me in this journey of motherhood!
I know some of you are like "it's just drinking out of a cup" but it was a pivotol moment for me. I don't know where all this emotion came from today..whether it is the fact that my babies are almost ONE, or that I was so overwhelmed with pride at them drinking from their cups, or that they can drink their milk by themselves now and they don't need me for that or the fact that I truly had no idea I could love like this. I loved those boys the first time I laid eyes on them but there is no comparison to the love I feel now-I know that love will continue to grow every day of their life so I hope as life with them gets more hectic that I will always remember this day, this moment I had with them. The beauty in being a mom is not planning everything, trying to make things happen my way but in letting them lead, letting them remind me of all the little, special things in life, letting them be them and encouraging and supporting them every step of the way. My precious miracles..they have forever changed who I am!