Flashback Friday: Me and Alyssa

My biggest blogging regret is that I didn't start sooner.

I didn't even hear about blogging until my sister-in-law, Emily, was having her baby (2 years ago) and her husband was updating her progress on his blog. I wish I'd known about it from the very minute that I became a mother. I feel like I have lost so much of those years when it was just Alyssa, and even just her and Alex. Most people have the most pictures of their firstborn, and I have the least. We didn't have a digital camera and I couldn't take 500 pictures a month like I do now, with film. I really do take that many pictures. Seth just backed up the last 6 months worth and there were 3000 pictures. When Alyssa was a baby, I didn't do that. Luckily I did try my hand at scrapbooking for one year, so Alyssa does have a book of her first year.

After we finally got a digital camera, I failed to back up pictures after uploading them and when our computer died we lost a whole years worth of pictures. Alyssa's whole second year. Boy oh boy, did I cry over that.

I go through pictures often and wish I had more of Alyssa, and more of Alex, too. During my pregnancy with Chloe, I went through a phase where I never took any pictures, so I am missing lots of pieces of Alex and that is when he had the long curly hair. I should have been taking 20 pictures of that hair a day, at least.

While I can't go back and relive all those unphotographed moments, I can at least attempt to document some of what I did capture. Old memories and photos, that may not be recent, but really do deserve to be on the books.

I know Flashback Friday is not original. I have seen it all over Blogland, but I think I will jump on board and occasionally show little blasts from the past. I may even get brave and show you some of that scrapbook I attempted.

But for today, let's start with me and Alyssa. Miss Alyssa is changing right before my eyes lately. She is suddenly way too cool for me. I admit to being a little spastic and making up lame games to play, like booty wars, where you have to run around and try to tag people with your butt. I know that I have major "embarrassing mom" potential, but until now all my kids have played along with my silliness. Lately, when I am up to my nonsensical shenanigans, Alyssa asks why I am so weird and leaves the room. She is also saying I love you less and less. It is excruciating. I will say, "I love you Alyssa" and she will hug me and giggle and then run away. Is she really already old enough to be over me? There was a time when we were each others whole world. She adored me. I thought for sure she would never outgrow me. I miss her. So when Seth keeps telling Alex that he doesn't have to say he loves me every 6.3 seconds, I keep telling him to please just let him. I don't know how long I have until he is over me too.

Come what may, I do love my Alyssa. No matter how our relationship changes through the years.

There are not very many pictures of me with my kids. I am almost always the one behind the camera. That is okay with me (most of the time) but as Alyssa changes I do wish I'd passed the camera off to Seth more often.

Here are a few that I managed to dig up.

I do have a couple of us together when she was a newborn, but my scanner seems to be sound asleep right now. Here are some taken after we went digital.

I got to go with Alyssa on her first day of preschool. Sorry about the close-up, no one was home to snap the shot of us heading off together. She was so afraid to leave my side that she even made me get in the choo choo line and chug around the school with her and her classmates as they toured their new domain.

First day of Kindergarten. Again, she was so attached to me. She was excited during the weeks leading up to school but when we got there, she begged to come home with me. Me and Seth stayed for awhile, but eventually decided that we were only making it worse. As we were leaving the building, the principal, who had heard the commotion from her office, was hurrying down the hall to help.

Easter 2006...another BAD goiter day.

As I was digging around for old pictures, I came across this gem.

I am just wondering why no one told me to do something about that hair...cut it, dye it, brush it, swim in some Frizz-ease, shave it...SOMETHING. I mean, really people. I was 6 months pregnant with Alex in that picture. I will use that as my excuse.

Here we are heading off to Alyssa's preschool Mother's Day program in May of 2007.

And these last ones are my favorite. On this particular day, we were at the Fun Zone in Newport Beach. It was December of 2004, so right after Alex was born. Alyssa was 2 1/2. She was bundled up in a long sleeved t-shirt of Valerie's. Her hair was unkempt, but I jumped in the photo booth with her, by the carousel and this was what we got. Faded, poor quality, film strip pictures...and I CHERISH them.

That was fun. I love to reminisce. I already have lists of fun flashbacks for you.