Michael Family Movie Nights

It is funny the ways in which being a parent change your life. Big things change, like not getting as much sleep, shifts in activities you participate in and even the people you spend time with. There are so many little changes, like how you refer to a food (instead of pho, pad thai, linguine, etc. it is all referred to as "noodles" in order to get her to eat it) or learning to set every beverage you drink out of a little one's reach (which becomes a whole new challenge when they get good at climbing). And then there are those magical changes in how you see the world - gaining an entirely new perspective on a simple part of life from enjoying it with your child. It is all these moments that we dreamed about from the first time we talked about starting a family, and now that they are happening, are even better than we had imagined. We had previously questioned all of the things we might be missing out on in starting a family and now realize the best part is what we were missing before we did!

One example is our new tradition of family movie nights. Clara is limited to a maximum 1 hour of media exposure a day and therefore if fascinated by TV. It is kind of scary, really! Together we have been enjoying some of Mommy & Daddy's childhood favorites like Muppets Take Manhattan and Snow White. Of course we never make it through a whole movie, but she really does well watching and following the story. The favorite part of our new movie-watching ritual is POPCORN!!!

Clara is so delighted to help make the popcorn and watches the popped kernels shoot out with the greatest anticipation. The adorable comments she makes and expressions she creates keep us laughing. Even after she is tucked in bed, we get a kick out of repeating her comments and go to bed with the warmest hearts! Parenthood is just SO much fun!