Adios, bottles

It's a magical day here in the Nevels' house. Today we say hello to you (cute sippy cup holder with sippy cups)...

And goodbye to you (bottles and bottle paraphernalia)...

Aside from the fact that I now have less countertop clutter, more open dishwasher space, and more money in the bank account (we officially said goodbye to astronomical formula expenses about a month ago), I am so proud of my girls for stepping up to the world of big girls and strictly using the sippy cup! Other than bringing two newborns home from the hospital and making sure we kept them alive, switching the girls first from formula to whole milk, then bottle to sippy cups has been the single most daunting task as a parent. There's only about a million different ways to do it, and thankfully we finally figured out a plan that worked for us (and successfully taught the girls that sippy cups were so much cooler than bottles). While I realize I should have a teary mom moment and mourn the fact that this is yet another step into my babies becoming big girls, and I will so very much miss watching them taking their bottles and how sweet their little mouths looked while taking one (ok, I'm getting a little misty), it's also so freeing knowing I can just throw some milk in the sippy cups and head out the door. And geez they are so much easier to clean. 

In addition to now feeling like super mom (I know, this feat is relatively microscopic in the realm of parenting victories. Can you imagine how great I'll feel if my girls make it through high school without getting into hard drugs?), it's been a great reminder that although, as parents, we so desperately want all the answers on how to do everything and fix everything and snap our fingers to get us through the times of frustration, confusion, and inadequacy (or is that just me?), but as everything else goes in life, we would also never feel that great sense of accomplishment that comes with knowing you did something great as a parent. If I've learned anything as a mom, it's knowing that no matter how tough the situation, I love them too much to not find the right answer. Let's only hope I carry this nugget of wisdom into their adolescent years when I have to somehow teach them much bigger lessons that involve hormones, peer pressure, and the loser scum bag teenage boys I already loathe. :)

So please feel free to raise your glass (or sippy cup) in my honor this evening. And pray for the next double parenting feat I have to take on!

xoxo