It steals my breathe to think that my sweet baby is almost 3.  I’m busy trying to decide what to do for her birthday, how best to celebrate, all the while fighting tears over the fact she is growing up way too fast.

She is definitely a little girl now.  The baby and toddler in her have faded making way for this beautiful, smart, energetic little girl.

I think every age a child goes through has its fun parts, its joys.  When they are really tiny you get to sit and snuggle with them all the time, you get to watch as they slowly start being awake more and more.  As they get a little bigger you get to watch them explore their world and play and react with their environment.  As they slowly leave the baby phase you get to watch as they learn to walk, talk and interact with other kids.  As they go from toddling around to running you get to see them really open up, really learn about language and develop a sense of independence.

Now that Maya is going on 3 we are into a whole new fun phase.  Her grasp of language is impeccable.  The things she says now sound like a little mini-adult is saying them.  Her sentence structure is wonderful, her vocabulary is huge and she is constantly learning and growing her language skills.  It certainly makes parenting so much easier when they can tell you exactly what they want, why they are crying, what they want to play with, etc.  She loves to explore and learn new things.  She loves to ask questions.

There are so many things I love about Maya at this age.  So many funny, and cute, and sweet things she is doing.  Things like:

• She is big into princesses right now.  Her favorite movie is Beauty and The Beast.  Which is funny because when I was a teenager I babysat this little girl who loved that movie and after watching it hundreds of times with her I swore I would never watch it again, and now here I am watching it on a daily basis.
• She loves to play dress up.  Give her a crown, or a pair of bunny ears, or a pretty dress, or a boa and you will have made her day.
• She has an incredible imagination and loves to play pretend.  Whether it is playing with her toy kitchen and making us all lunch, having a little tea party, playing “mommy” to her babies and toy animals, or playing with her all time favorite my little ponies, she loves to play make-believe.
• She is extremely opinionated, and about the strangest things.  Most mornings the first thing out of her mouth is “No ponytail, Mommy.” as I’m busy throwing my bed head hair into a quick ponytail.  She loves to boss us around and tell us where to sit, or what to do, or what not to do.
• She loves to go to the park, and would probably go everyday if she could.  The other day at dinner we asked her what she wanted to do after dinner, her response “Umm, maybe, playground, maybe?”, with a little head tilt added for good measure.  She can turn on the charm when she needs to as well
• She has her moments where she is crazy and rambunctious and all over the place, but most of the time she can be found sitting quietly reading her books, or coloring or playing quietly with her toys.
• She adores, just adores, her kitties.  She is, and always has been, super sweet and gentle with them.
• She is a mommy’s girl through and through.  I have to admit, I love it.  I love that she still needs me, that she still lets me hold her and cuddle her.

I could go on and on and on.  There is so much I love about her, so much that amazes me and makes me happy.  I want to bottle it all up and savor these moments.  I want to pause time and stay here with her, just like this, for a little while longer.

When I found out I was having a girl I was so excited.  Growing up the only girl with 4 brothers I felt like I had had my fair share of boys and wanted a little girl.  Finding out that my first baby was actually going to be a girl was a wonderful surprise.  I started imagining the beautiful clothing I would dress her in.  I started imagining the fun we would have playing with dolls and barbies and my little ponies as she grew up (all favorites of mine when I was little).  I wondered if she would be like me, a mix of tomboy and girlie, or all tomboy.  I never for moment imagined she would be 100% girlie, I don’t know why, I just didn’t.

I’m not particularly girlie, and I’m not all tomboy either.  I would definitely consider myself a mix.  I do, occasionally, love to look pretty and get all dressed up, but for the most part you’ll find me in jeans and a t-shirt with my hair pulled back in a ponytail and no make up on.  The idea that I would find myself the mother of a 100% girlie girl never crossed my mind.  However, that is exactly what I am.  Maya is currently in a phase of being 100% girlie.  She is very opinionated when it comes to what she will wear, mostly dresses.  Shoes are a bit of an obsession of hers.  I bought her a little pair of pink ballet flats the other day and she put them on and pronounced that she was going to “wear ‘em everyday, mommy!!”  And she has.

I have to admit it’s kind of fun.  She is all about having pretty bows in her hair, or her new sparkly tiara!  She’s started wanting me to paint her toe nails.  I did it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and would you believe she sat perfectly still the whole time.  Afterwards she had to show everyone her “torable” (adorable) toes

Love my little girlie girl and I’m having so much fun being her mom.

I’m currently caught in an epic power struggle, also commonly referred to as nap time, with my two year old.  Maya is getting to the age where she wants to assert her independence and feels like she no longer needs to bother napping anymore.  I, on the other hand, can see that she definitely still physically needs to nap and I absolutely still mentally need it.  And so ensues our power struggle every afternoon.

I’d love to be able to blame this phase on the big switch to the toddler bed and her getting used to the change, but sadly it was happening before we made the switch.  For the last month or so Maya has been fighting her naps like nobody’s business.  She’ll go down okay, I don’t really have to fight her too much to get her ready for nap and into her bedroom.  But, once she is in there the gloves come off and she is ready for a fight.  Some days it takes her up to 2 hours to actually fall asleep, which means she isn’t asleep until 3 or 3:30 and I then have to wake her up at 5 because she’s still sleeping.  The fact that she will easily sleep for 2 hours once she does fall asleep tells me she still needs to nap everyday, but I’m at a loss as to how to get her to fall sleep at a decent time.  Nap time is a very important to her, and to me, I’m so not ready for it to go away yet.

Being a stay at home parent is awesome.  I love it and wouldn’t trade it for the world.  I feel so lucky to be able to part of Maya’s day to day routine.  Being with her and taking care of her everyday is exactly what I want to be doing.  That being said, being a stay at home parent is incredibly challenging and exhausting.  I don’t get the benefit of a lunch break or, on a bad day, being able to leave my work behind me and head home.  I don’t get to take vacations or get a weekend to regroup.  My work is with me all the time, 24/7.  Therefore, I put great importance on nap time.  Those couple of hours every afternoon are a godsend.  It is my time to relax, to work, to write, to regroup, to do whatever I want alone and in the peace and quiet.  On days when Maya doesn’t, for whatever reason, get a nap I can see a huge difference in myself.  I am more edgy, less patient, less together.  I need that time and I’m just not ready to part with it.

Since those lovely hours in the afternoon that my daughter slumbers are so important to me I fight harder for them.  Maybe if those hours weren’t so important to me I would give in, I’d let her stay up (even though I know she still needs the sleep).  But right now I know she physically needs that sleep and I need that quiet time for my emotional well being, so I will stay in this battle for as long as I can.  I will win this one.

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and by the makers of ob tampons, CAREFREE Pantiliners and STAYFREE pads.

When I was first presented with the opportunity* to attend Lilith Fair I knew I couldn’t turn it down, I knew I had to make it work.  Not only am I an incredibly huge Sarah McLachlan fan but I was also in desperate need of a little momma’s night out.  So, I graciously accepted the offer to attend, invited my dear friend Heather and looked forward to what I hoped would be a wonderful evening.

The idea of Lilith Fair, a whole festival put on by women, for women, is very inspiring.  Women have come a long way in the ranks over the years and I think this festival highlights those achievements.  It gives women, from all walks of life, an opportunity to see some amazing female musicians together on one stage.  It gives women a chance to celebrate being women, celebrate where we’ve come from, and where we’re going, all to a soundtrack of really good music.

Friday night, dressed in something other than my typical mom attire, I picked up my friend Heather and headed to the concert. We weren’t able to make it to the show to see the earlier acts because of other responsibilities and childcare issues, but got there in time to see some incredible performances from the likes of Court Yard Hounds, Emmylou Harris, Mary J Blige and, of course, the amazing Sarah McLachlan. Not a single performance disappointed.

After listening to the incredible musical talent of Court Yard Hounds (who I am now a new huge fan of) and the awe-inspiring Emmylou Harris we decided to check out what the sponsor that had brought us to the event, the makers of STAYFREE® pads, CAREFREE® liners and o.b.® tampons, had to offer.

Our first stop was the Lilipad Bathroom. We all know how hard it can be to find a nice, clean women’s bathroom at concert venues. The Lilipad Bathroom was touted as a relaxing, cool women’s bathroom that was complete with an attendant and lots of free samples. The Lilipad Bathroom was huge, nice and clean and had really pretty decor, including pink lighting!  Unfortunately, I don’t think the venue was equipped for a particularly cool bathroom.  The area where the stalls were was almost as hot as it was outside, but there was a giant fan in the area where the sinks were so that was nice and refreshing.  And, true to their word there were a ton of free samples.  I don’t think I saw a single woman leaving the bathroom without something in her hands.  Everyone seemed really impressed with the free samples.  When we were standing in line for drinks later in the evening two girls behind us started raving about the free tampon carry case they got at the Lilipad Bathroom.  Our next stop was the Lilipad Lounge equipped to be a bit of a cooling station, lots of free samples and swag, and a opportunity to get your picture taken to look like you’re on stage. I’m pretty sure the best swag they had at the Lilipad Lounge was the cooling cloths, little wet and chilled wash cloths. Everywhere I turned I saw women and men with the cloths wrapped around their necks, tucked in the backs of their t-shirts, or just rubbing down their faces with it.  The  cooling cloth was definitely a huge hit. By the time we hit the tent, at about 8pm they were out of swag and closing up shop so I wasn’t able to get a cooling cloth of my own. The Lilipad Lounge and Bathroom seemed like great additions to Lilith Fair and seemed to be huge hits with the crowd.

We wrapped the night up by being completely wowed by the music of Mary J Blige and Sarah McLachlan.  When Mary J Blige took to the stage everyone was on their feet.  We danced and danced (who knew I was going to get a bit of a workout in on my night out!).  By the time Sarah took to the stage the crowd was in high spirits and ready to end the night on a high note.  It was an amazing show.  I never get tired of seeing Sarah perform.

One of the things I loved was listening to all the inspirational things each performer had to say about women. These ladies have all come a long way in their field and have seen things that female musicians a few decades ago could only dream about.  Each of them was aware of that and happy to be part of something as special and inspiring as Lilith Fair.  They each spoke to the beauty and strength of women and that every woman, no matter what she does or where she comes from has something to offer.

My favorite thing about music festivals, like Lilith Fair, is the opportunity they bring to see musicians from so many different genres.  The ladies of Court Yard Hounds said it best when they commented on the fact that only at Lilith Fair could you find Mary J Blige following Emmylou Harris.  Not only does the festival bring women together and break down the barriers that sometimes separate us but they bring together genres of music, and fans of those many different genres for an evening of us all rock out together, an evening where you are introduced to artists you may not have even heard of before but end up loving.

I had a fabulous time on my Momma’s night out at Lilith Fair and would like to thank the makers of STAYFREE®, CAREFREE® and o.b.® for this wonderful opportunity and for sponsoring an event that celebrates and empowers women.

And now for the best part, I’m happy to be able to offer each of you a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card thanks to the lovely people at BlogHer and Lilipad.  There are three easy ways to enter (official rules) for your chance to win.  The first is to leave a comment here telling me what your ideal Momma’s night out would be.  Or, you can simply tweet about this post or blog about this post.  If you do tweet or blog about this post please come back and leave me a comment with a link to the tweet or post so I can be sure you get credit for your entry.  Each person can have up to two entries.  The contest is open until 5pm EST on August 4th.  The winner will be drawn using random.org.  Good luck everyone!.

*I was commissioned to write this post by the makers of o.b.® tampons, CAREFREE® pantiliners and STAYFREE® pads and I received monetary compensation, as well as concert tickets and transportation to and from the concert.

Before I got pregnant, before I became a mom, I remember hearing people say they could pick their baby’s cry out of a crowd of crying babies.  At the time, since I didn’t have any children I just could not fathom how that was possible.  I mean, to my virgin ears, all babies crying sounded the same.  How was it possible for a mom to decipher the cry of her child from the cry of another child.  I just didn’t get it.

Then I had a baby, I became a mom, and I instantly got it.  A mom can tell her child’s cry apart from all other cries because she hears it with more than just her ears, she hears it with her heart.

I remember the first night home from the hospital after Maya was born and worrying that I wouldn’t wake up to her cries in the middle of the night.  I went to sleep very nervous about it only to be woken not by the actual sound of her cries but by my heart racing.  It was like my heart heard her cries and woke me up in that split second before my ears registered the sound.  I felt more like a real mom in that instant than I had before.  My body, my heart, was wired to hear my child’s cries.  I was now equipped with the power to decipher my child’s cry from any other child’s cry, that is magical.

I can remember late nights in the early months when Maya was still waking in the night to eat waking to my racing heart but not yet registering the actual sound of the cry and hoping that my heart was playing tricks on me and she was not awake and ready to eat yet, that I could get just a few more minutes sleep first.  Always, every single time, my racing heart was right and I’d hear her cries coming over the monitor loud and clear.

There have been days when I’m sitting on the couch and my heart will jump at the faintest of sounds and I know it is Maya.  I don’t question my heart anymore.  If my heart jumps or races I know without a doubt that the faintest sound I hear is Maya and I go to her.  I know it is her because I hear it with my heart.

Yesterday, like most summer days here in St. Louis, it was hot.  Sticky, hot, humid.  The kind of day that makes you really appreciate your air conditioning.  As much as sitting around inside, in the comfortable temperature controlled climate, sounding like a great idea Maya had other plans.  She could see her swimming pool through the window and it called to her.  The colorful pool, the inviting cool waters, beckoned to her to come out and play.  So, she donned her bathing suit, I donned some very comfortable, sweat-resistant clothing, and with sunscreen heavily applied, cool refreshing drinks in hand, we headed out to the backyard for a little pool side fun.

Within minutes I could tell that lazing around in the backyard, while Maya splashed around in her pool, was going to make braving the sweat inducing temperature well worth it.  Any day, no matter how stinkin’ hot it is outside, I would take this over the comfort of my air conditioning, any day.

Days like this, moments like this, make me happy.  They make me grateful for the time I get to spend with this awesome little girl.  They make me grateful that life has dealt me such a good hand.