Helping Hands

"Mother and daughters become closest when daughters become mothers."     - Author unknown

My amazing mother and mother-in-law have both been down to St. George in the past week to help Burke and I ease into our roles as new parents.  My mother came last Thursday (June 9) and stayed with us until Sunday when she had to return up north for our Bush family reunion.  No, we didn't join the family at an incredible 12 bedroom cabin in Island Park Idaho for the "Where's Your Treasure" pirate themed gathering.  Yes, I was sad about it, but I think we made a wise decision as I am still trying to recover and Daphne is so brand spankin' new that I probably would have been paranoid the whole visit.

Mumsie said that Daphne is definitely the most alert of her 15 grandchildren and one of the biggest!  She often doesn't seem like a newborn at all, opening her eyes and staring around for hours at a time, lifting her head all on her own (not kidding - she's been doing this since day one!) and even sleeping for a 6 hour stretch on 3 different nights now.  What a wonder child!

Marie joined us Monday afternoon and stayed until Friday morning.  She, Alan and my mother all made the same remark at different points that Daphne seems so "familiar" to them.  I thought that was really sweet and of course it made sense as our daughter is part of our eternal family.

Both mothers were extremely helpful doing laundry, vacuuming, fixing meals and taking night shifts with Daphne so that Burke and I could sleep.  The night before my mom left she even pulled an all nighter sewing a valance for the nursery, folding several loads of laundry and cleaning our bathroom.  What a champ!  I am so grateful that they were willing to take time out of their lives to help alleviate some of the craziness of being new parents.  Thank you Mumsie and Marie!  We love you and miss you already!