Little Days with Courtney and Piper

Hi there! I'm Courtney- mama, worker-bee, instagram enthusisast, and nighttime writer. My little corner of the interwebs is called Bowdenisms- a place where I share my love of (my) babies, my obsession with grilled cheese, and my passion for keeping it real. I am delighted to be hosting the Little Days link up today with Shannon.

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I love my daughter.

Duh, right?

But I do. I love to cuddle her, read to her, play with her, sing to her, and cuddle her some more. Basically- I love to love her.

But there might be something else I love just a little bit more...

...seeing other people love her.

As her mama, I obviously think she's the cat's pajamas (sometimes literally- when she wears her cat pajamas...) and even if I didn't (impossible) I'd have to love her anyway. Or at least act like it.

But everyone else? They don't have to love her. They can see her from an unbiased perspective, and judge her on her own tiny merits. Now I know most people wouldn't admit to judging babies...but let's be real: we do. Sure, they're all adorable, precious little gifts from heaven etc and so on....but when they're not yours, it's easy to also see that they're sticky, sweaty, tyrannical little monsters. So if someone else loves my little monster? I know it's because they really want to. And that makes my mama heart swell.

With pride?

With gratefulness?

yes and yes.

When I hear someone praise her...when I watch them marvel at one of her newest "skills"...or see them smile at her goofy antics...I'm so proud. Proud of my girl. Proud of who she is, what she's learning and who she's becoming.

 

And when I see someone's eyes soften when they look at her...when I watch them cuddle her...or hear them laugh with her...I'm so grateful. Grateful that God has given me such a beautiful (and loud, and quirky, and basically irresistible) gift of a daughter. But even more grateful that He's also given me beautiful, loving, (and basically irresistible) friends and family to share her with.

Loving a child is a wonderful, stretching, and humbling experience.

And watching your love be loved...Is even better.

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Little Days is a weekly series geared towards capturing our children and their stories. The hope is for this series to become a way to continue to encourage one another to enjoy the small moments and create a record that we can easily look back upon to see the often overlooked moments of childhood. Join us by linking up your own recent post and helping to spread the word. #littledays