"Little girls are the nicest things that happen to people. They are born with a little bit of angelshine about them, and though it wears thin sometimes there is always enough left to lasso your heart." - Alan Beck

Let me be clear. I love both of my girls with all my heart. With the addition of our littlest one, my heart needed not to be divided, but has just grown.

But having a newborn is hard, and sometimes figuring out how to take care of everyone's emotional needs can be taxing.

One day, my husband came home from work, and despite my best efforts, I broke down in tears. He thought maybe it was the physical drain from our fussy little newcomer, or being home with both kids by myself all day, or the fact that I hadn't slept more than a couple of hours in the last two days. While these certainly contributed, I told him that the thing I missed the most was actually seeing our toddler. Even when I'm at home all day with both kids, I sometimes rarely get a few moments with our oldest because the baby needs - and wants - so much attention. I told him that I really wanted just a few hours alone with our toddler, just her and me.

He of course, being the amazing husband he is, agreed. I haven't started making bottles yet, so we figured out the best way to make sure the baby was fed right before we left the house so I could leave her with him while my Daniel Tiger-loving, curly-headed girl and I ventured out on a Mommy-Daughter date.

The night before our "date", I was unbelievably excited, and I woke up the next day like a child on the morning of their birthday. I couldn't wait to take my little one out, to spend time with her alone. This little girl means the world to me, and I'd had no idea that I would miss her so much when the baby came.

We had 3 hours including drive time, so first we went to story time at the library, her favorite place. It had been ages since we'd gone to story time, and it took a minute for her to let go of her shyness, but by the end she was having a blast. We sang "Wheels on the Bus" and "Skinnamarink," two of her favorites.

Next, we went to Arby's, which oddly enough, seemed to be the highlight of our day, despite the fact that she refused to eat. We probably annoyed the one patron who was there to no end with my daughter's running up and down the seats, but she was just having so much fun! I normally would make her behave, but it was a day of letting loose!

We tried to follow it up with a trip to the yogurt shop, but sadly, it was closed, so we picked up an ice cream bar and traveled onward to the park. It was a windy day, so our ice cream melted quickly, but that's okay because the curly-haired girl just wanted to run anyway, and the only playground equipment she wanted to play on was the slide....over and over again.

Finally, sleepy and tuckered out, we headed home. Later that evening, the whole family went out for pizza and yogurt, at last! And Daddy and I agreed that this Mommy-Daughter time could be a regular thing. I'm already pumped for our next outing!

"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." -Marianne Williamson