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Happy Mother’s Day, Mama!

Baby Babble
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, MAMA!

By: Ashley Hoppe | May 4, 2023

This Mother’s Day will be my second one, and if you ask me, this makes me a veteran in making my mama feel happy and loved on Mother’s Day. Last year, being just a few months old, I somehow got her a necklace with the letter “J” on it to signify my name, some chocolate, pretty flowers and a handwritten card. I wanted to make sure she felt extra special -- it was her first Mother’s Day as a mama after all. Truly I outdid myself because I don’t even remember how I earned the money to buy these little gifts for her in the first place and certainly don’t remember writing a card. Looking back on it, I had rather great handwriting, though it somewhat resembles my father’s chicken scratch.

I’m not sure I will be able to top that this year but I’ll have to think of something. Maybe my dada can help me come up with an idea again, as I am starting to get the feeling he did last year. I’ll have to keep making note of my mama’s favorite things around the house, what she gets excited about and how she likes to clap her hands when she’s happy. That way, I can pick out the best gifts for her.

So far, she seems to really like The Wiggles songs because when they come on the speaker she seems so happy. She dances around and makes me laugh, singing along to the songs and putting a huge smile on my face. I have to say, she has great taste in music! Those songs are some of the best ones I have ever heard. One of them is definitely her favorite because her face lights up even more when it comes on and she sings every word. And every time it comes on. I start wiggling my hips and bouncing my knees too, it’s so catchy and we both end up dancing to it with big smiles on our faces. We’re so alike my mama and I. Anyways, I could try to think of a gift that has to do with the Wiggles, like maybe a Wiggles person stuffed animal, but I am not sure where I would get one of those. Maybe it will just have to be a gift where I ask dad to play the Wiggles through the speakers and we get to dance together and laugh.

Another thing she really likes is playing hide and seek. I love to play the game where I run around a piece of furniture and stick my head out to see if she is following me and then keep going around it. I guess it could be more like chase than hide and seek. I go around and around and every time I look back, she is laughing and smiling so I think she likes it just as much as I do. My favorite place to play this is in our house. I go around the kitchen table where the big grown ups eat and every time I round a corner, I look back and see that she is chasing me with a big smile on her face. She never catches me though, I am so fast. Sometimes I like to change it up and go under the table where I pretend I am in a tent so she can’t really see me. She acts like she can’t get under the table and instead plays chase going around the table, while I crawl around under it. We really have such fun doing that. Maybe one of my gifts to her will be game time of playing chase and hide and seek.

Another game she really likes is peekaboo. When we play, I go around and take all the dish towels down from where they are hiding and put them on my head so I can’t see anything and nobody can see me. Then I hear mama saying “Where’s Jackson? I can’t find him!” so I know that I am hidden really really well. Then I take the towel off my head and show her where I am! Her smile is always so big on her face when I do that so I know she’s having a great time playing. Next, I hold the towel out to her so that she can take a turn. She puts it over her head and says she can’t see me, but oddly enough I can still see her. It makes me a little confused because when I put the towel on my head she can’t see me. Maybe I am just better at this game than she is. Regardless, I think she likes this game more than I do when she is the one hiding. When I am hiding, I think we enjoy it the same amount. Maybe this will be a gift to her too, an uninterrupted game time of peekaboo where I am the one hiding.

Mama also loves being outside. We go on long walks and sometimes I fall asleep in my stroller to the sounds of the wind and the feeling on my face. I can hear her talking, sometimes to dad and sometimes to someone on the phone. She always seems happy when we are doing that. She especially loves when we go to the park and throw balls. I love throwing balls. I have been told I have a “good arm” which I think means I can throw the ball pretty far. I do that inside and outside, but my favorite by far is to do it outside. I throw the balls and my parents both smile and laugh and clap their hands. It makes me so happy, so I smile and laugh and clap as well. This is probably the thing that makes mama the most happy since it combines two things she really likes, which, coincidentally, are two things I really like also.

So, you might still be wondering how I am going to top my first Mother’s Day with a gift or a few gifts to my mama? Well, I think I will plan a day for her. We will start by singing and dancing to The Wiggles songs, then we'll play hide and seek and chase, followed by a round or two of peekaboo and finally we will go outside to take a long walk, during which I will sleep, and then we will throw some balls around. She will be so happy to do all of her favorite activities, and I will be so happy to spend the time with her. I am not quite sure how I will get my plan across to Dad, but I will work on that. I’ll make sure he knows that she doesn’t need a physical gift. After all, aren’t I the best gift that she could ever receive? 😜

Ashley Hoppe lives in Novato with her husband Brett and their son Jackson. You can find her hiking or trying a new coffee shop. She’d be delighted to hear from you at ashlauwain@gmail.com.