Learning To Say Yes

This morning as Chloe and I sat at the kitchen table eating breakfast together she reminded me of something that was very important to me. After giving Chloe a few bites of yogurt she wanted to feed herself. My first reaction was no, I didn't want her to feed herself because I knew she would get really messy and I didn't want to spend the extra time cleaning her up. But then I looked at my daughter who is so full of curiosity, who just wants to play and learn and explore and I realized I had forgotten one of the most important things to me regarding Motherhood, saying yes instead of no.

There she sat in her highchair with a cup of yogurt in one and hand and a spoon in the other, happy has can be just feeding herself. In that moment I got to witness Chloe learn, and play and become one step closer to an independent toddler. I love moments like those, seeing Chloe learn and grow but its so easy for me to get caught up in my own agenda and miss out on these important moments for Chloe. 

I want to be the kind of Mom that says yes instead of constantly saying no. Obviously I'm not going to say yes to anything that could be dangerous and harmful but I will say yes to activities that make Chloe happy, that help her learn and discover more of who she is. Like letting her feed herself, or staying at the park for a few more minutes then I wanted to because Chloe's having so much fun, or letting her play with paint and paper even though that means extra cleanup for me.

I am so grateful for this lesson today, to be reminded of the kind of Mother I want to be. To see my daughter grow and experience precious moments in life is so refreshing to me, it opens my eyes and I too take the time to slow down, to forget about my schedule and agenda and really, really enjoy those simple yet precious moments in life, like the one in that picture above.